Easy
by YamiYugiPuzzleshipper
Summary: After the events of Simple, Yugi had hoped his relationship with Yami would be smooth sailing. But things have taken an irreversible turn for the worst, and the things Yami thought hidden in his past are resurfacing. A chain of events are put in motion and the threat of disaster comes from every corner. Lemons. Yaoi. Don't like, don't read.
1. The Cards

**Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Yu-Gi-Oh**

 **Update Schedule: I'm going to try for every Wednesday (wish me luck)**

 **Story Warning: Cursing will go from mild to excessive at times, depending on the character speaking and the situation they're in (I don't think they'll curse nearly as much as they did in _Simple_ though)**

 **Okay, so this is pretty premature. But after two (or three) years? I think it's kind of overdue actually. *eye roll* I don't know if my original readers will be here to read this considering the time that has passed since I finished the prequel, but here it is,** **the sequel to _Simple._**

 **But, before anyone starts reading, let's get something straight really quickly. I would really rather NOT have a repeat of what happened last time with a certain guest reader. If you really want to verbally attack me, then that's fine, go ahead. But over a story? Where the characters are fictional? And none of my actual VIEWS are being represented in it? That's pretty pathetic. Let's just put it that way. I actually don't have narrow views on sexuality or anything like that. Do what you want, do it with who you want with their consent. If I'm not part of it, it's ALL judgment free as far as I'm concerned. I could NOT care less, promise you. As for "slut shaming", I really don't have an opinion on that either. Do what you what, however you want. You could have threesomes and eight-somes for all I care and I still won't judge. I'm not involved in it, I have no part to play in it. I still could NOT CARE LESS.**

 **The point is, though. NONE of my values are actually REFLECTED in these stories. I don't slut shame, I don't have narrow minded views on sexuality. Also, the only reason half of the characters in the story reacted as they did, was because in my high school, that's how things always happened. So relax, I don't care and I have no actual opinion on any of it. I didn't even know half of the girls who got called sluts or the guys who were being praised for hooking up with them. I just heard the gossip and the name-calling. Considering I was going for (somewhat) realistic in their reactions, it seemed okay to use those kinds of things. And if anyone actually wants to argue this out, then take it somewhere else. I don't have time for it, even if you do. My life becomes stressful enough without someone trying to shame me for how a couple of borrowed characters react to certain situations. (And, really? Am I the WORST you can find? I feel extremely sorry for you if that's the case.) Feel free to ignore this if you weren't involved. I really won't mind if you do, promise. (In fact, it'd make me extremely happy if you did ignore this lol I'm kind of ashamed that I even have to justify it as it is.)**

 **Now, that said, as mentioned above! My update schedule will be Wednesdays as _Simple's_ was. I'm not done with the story like I was with _Simple_ or _Behind You_ when I began posting, so if I miss a day or a week, that might be why. But I'm trying to motivate myself to keep up with this story again through posting on schedule. I have the basic outline but the story just refuses to come out. That aside, it also helps to keep me motivated for the werewolf multi-chapter story and _Shadow Me_ as well. So, go ahead and tell me what you think, if I should keep going with it or scrap it altogether.**

 **Fun fact: I'm actually stuck on the chapter where Yugi is going to tie Yami up LOL It's seriously kicking my ass~ Good luck to me to get it finished anytime soon haha (I've still got quite a bit of research to do for it and I'm less than motivated to do more research after doing so much for the werewolf multi-chapter story; fuck me, if you only knew HOW MANY BOOKMARKS I HAVE FOR THAT ONE STORY!)**

 **Chapter Warnings: Mentions of death, mentions of social abuse, mentions of child abuse, mentions of abusive parents**

 **Note: Yugi is in California, Yami is still in Domino. The time difference is pretty big. I had to struggle with it several times to keep it from getting out of hand for me. If I'm inconsistent at some point, that's why. I have never been all that great with time zones so, yeah, I'm just going to throw that out there.**

 **Story Note: I'm going to probably have some inconsistencies between this and _Simple_ as far as flashbacks go and some of the character histories. If I do, it shouldn't really be too terribly noticeable, actually. And it might be very intentional (because some of the characters aren't always who they pretend to be and no one knows each other as well as they think they do). So keep it in mind. You can point it out if you go back and reread _Simple_ and notice it, and I'll explain it to you, but I don't think it'll be so significant that someone will jump on it like that. ALSO, in case you were wondering, there are going to be a **LOT **of additional pairings in this story. If you want to know more about that, go ahead and PM me and I'll give you a list of them that may be subject to change as the story goes along (since, you know…I haven't finished it *coughs*). That aside, this story WILL BE DARKER than _Simple_. That won't pertain entirely to just Yami and Yugi's relationship but the situation at hand as the story develops. The Millennium Items play a much larger role so it makes it a lot harder for things to be straight and neatly cut with everything that happens. **

Chapter I: The Cards

Yami flipped the card over and stared blankly, chewing his cheek as the Puzzle gleamed with a spare ray of sunlight from the window. He tapped his finger lightly against the small piece of layered pasteboard, narrowing his eyes in apprehension. He was still getting the same outcome and he'd done this over twenty times. The Puzzle was burning from where it rested against his crossed legs, the silver chain feeling suddenly heavy and weighted. His skin crawled, feverish and cold all at once, and his stomach clenched, twisting violently.

The last time he had gotten the same fucking spread so many times in a row, he had been kidnapped and held in a warehouse for three days. And that was not something the red-eyed teen was looking forward to repeating a second time.

He tapped his finger again and stared at the six cards that kept appearing effortlessly in front of him. The spread was almost completely the same as the last, but instead of having four cards up and two down, only two sat up and the others down.

Osiris rested face up, almost gleaming, when he glanced at the other cards. It had to have been a trick of the light, but it had persisted no matter how often he tried to convince himself. His eyes were starting to hurt from staring at the print for so long and his spine was too tense beneath his skin now.

His fingers shook for a moment as he shivered and swallowed hard, leaning back and looking the cards over. Ra rested downwards, Obelisk rested downwards, the Angel of Silence Doma sat upwards, Red Eyes was down, and Silver Fang was down.

It was not a coincidence that these six cards rested in front of him as they had before, only months ago. And that had nothing to do with the fact that he barely even _believed_ in coincidence. Most of the time coincidence seemed to be planned when it came to him and he had no idea how to combat it at any rate.

He shook his head and grabbed at his hair for a moment; so death was once again prominent in his near future. That wasn't a surprise, however, as his dreams had been screaming yet the same thing, relentless in their attempts to get his attention. Yami closed his eyes to force away the images of blood and crushed bone that flashed in the forefront of his tired, anxious mind. Walls painted red and shredded blankets, curtains, a smashed headboard…

Yami shook his head to banish the thoughts and sat forward, the Puzzle burning until he felt it would brand his skin or catch his jeans alight. He squeezed his eyes shut again for a moment and then looked to his cards.

Ra lying before him as it was meant he had absolutely no power over the situation that was arising. Obelisk spoke of having no strength to fight whatever danger awaited him. Doma meant his senses would fail, an omen that he wasn't so keen on having repeated. Red Eyes in its current position meant he would have no control. Silver Fang downwards meant that he would not have even his instincts to guide him.

He chewed his cheek but knew there was nothing more he could do; the cards hadn't failed him before. And besides that, his own reading matched Yugi's completely, no matter how hard he tried to change it. There was nothing he could do to change anything and he was too tired to try now.

He glanced out the window and sighed quietly; it was too early for the video chat he had promised to have with the smaller teen. He would have to wait until early in the morning to hear his voice and see his face. Vaguely he wondered which he hoped for more—for Rebecca not to be there or for her to watch over his shoulder and throw in the occasional insult. The last time he had seen the blonde, she had smacked him upside the head and thrown cake at him when they had crossed paths at the café across from the Kame Game Shop Yugi's family owned.

He remembered the verbal lashing she had given him as clear as day, never even having to think it over. It sometimes echoed in his ears when he snuggled with the smaller boy at night. And always in that same hateful voice that made him feel sick to his stomach with regret.

"He told me what you did, you ungrateful little bastard. I know all about how you refused to even open the door and talk to him. He's miserable because of you, you know that, _Atem_? I've never seen him so fucking miserable before. I should gut you like a fish but then he'd hate _me_. And another thing—you know he should hate your guts for this but for some _stupid_ reason he still loves you. You know what, Yami? If he isn't _happy_ in the next three weeks, I'm going to slit your throat. Do you get that? I'm going to _murder_ you, you pathetic piece of _shit_."

His stomach twisted at the small fleeting voice that passed through his mind. His legs itched for movement now and he was almost tempted to head to the game shop with the off chance that perhaps he would be there. Logically he knew that the other teen was with the blonde, that the shop was closed unless he went and opened it for business since Yugi had given him the key in case he thought he should. Yami would never admit it to him but he had snuck in there a couple of times just to lay in his bed because the sheets smelled so keenly of him.

He was well aware that it was not normal for him to feel so much pain when he was only gone for two weeks in the first place. But it was obvious that Yugi felt the same just because at times his voice came out desperate for his response when they spoke on the phone. Yami had spent the first week sneaking into his house, laying beneath his sheets, breathing in the warm scent that was the smaller teen. He had spent time wandering the house and game shop, occasionally straightening up because he felt he had to do _something_ besides waste time there.

He guessed he hadn't outgrown that urge despite how long he had been out of his parents' physical reach. He felt his lips curl back at the very thought of them even in passing, getting to his feet. He had no plans to leave the house for the moment, too hungry to bother with much more than a journey to his kitchen. Vaguely he wished the other teen were there to greet him, holding a buttered blueberry bagel like he normally was when he first woke up on the weekends.

Yami tapped a nail against his table for a moment, glancing into the barren kitchen and chewing his cheek. Half the time he wanted to wreck everything in the stupid little room. He hated the way it remained so constantly clean but he was aware of just how stupid it would be to ruin it all. And some small part of him was paranoid with the idea that the moment he did so, his parents would appear at his door.

He leaned against the counter lazily, crossing his arms and closing his eyes tightly. In the loneliness of his house, it was impossible not to have memories creep through him like worms in the ground. It made him want to flee, made his heart constrict, his lungs feel weak. Most of the time he found himself almost dialing one of his cousins' numbers, desperate for company, but he had always forced it away. In the loneliness he also got time to think, despite the moments of fear and anxiety it bred.

The red-eyed teen opened his gaze into narrow slits of ruby and peered through his lashes towards the window. Yugi was still asleep in the states, probably in the same bed as Rebecca because he had mentioned to him that they had turned the guestroom into a storage unit. When he had told him, Yami wasn't sure what he had expected from him, but he knew he wasn't hearing things when he had caught the surprise leaking into the smaller boy's voice.

A small rapping noise made him lift his head and listen before heading for the door when it repeated. He glanced through the peephole and then threw the door open, not bothering to greet his visitor.

The pale brown-eyed white-haired boy wandered inside without hesitation, knowing without thought it was the only greeting he would get as far as the other was concerned. Since Yugi had left, he had started talking less but he had also become slightly more complacent towards his visits again. Since he had drugged him before and dragged him out to get wasted, Yami hadn't been nearly as nice as he had formerly. He was lucky most of the time if he could just get him to sit still and let him listen to his breathing.

Regardless he went about saying, "Hello Yami" with a warm smile that the other merely shot him a disdainful look in response to. Ryou shrugged it off easily and tossed his backpack onto the floor, digging through some of his medical books to grab his stethoscope.

He was supposed to stay there for a few hours, in which Yami's cousin Malik would take up looking after him. Yami didn't technically need someone looking after him but Ryou was growing more and more worried that he was spiraling towards depression. He wasn't sure if it was because Yugi wasn't around at the moment or if it was just that he was finally cracking beneath some of the strain he had been put under growing up. But either way, he didn't want the red-eyed teen to sink. He couldn't imagine Yugi being too happy about it nor his cousins truly understanding it.

He actually thought that maybe Malik had an idea of it because he suddenly seemed pretty eager to spend more time with his cousin where as they formerly only interacted when it was absolutely necessary. He hadn't questioned it, knowing he would never get an answer, and so he was still stuck speculating everything.

Then again, he wasn't complaining. Sometimes observing and speculating did him better than sticking his nose deep into their business. Trying to get past the surface always ended up dangerous for him. Yugi wanted his head and he would have it if it wasn't for Yami needing examinations every day or so. Seto and Bakura both shared the thought that they were required to interact with him but he was kept so far out of range that there was nothing he could do to dig into anything concerning them. Malik was friendly but if he made the wrong move or said something even remotely inappropriate he tended to stare him down like a cat did a mouse.

"So, I need you to sit on the armrest," he announced, the other teen pausing from where he was about to disappear into the kitchen. Yami stopped for a split second, seeming to think it over, and then snorted and headed off into the small room. Ryou heard the distinct sound of the fridge door being opened; he sighed and shook his head, leaning against the backrest of the couch lazily. He was pretty sure that Yami was more or less an early riser and it begged the question of what he had been doing instead of having breakfast.

"How are your lungs?" he called out, straining his ears and blinking when Yami came around to look at him with fierce red eyes. He wasn't sure what he had been doing before he had arrived but whatever it was, it had set him into one of his more violent moods. He could see the way his eyes had grown a shade darker from their usual hue of intense ruby. His skin crawled, remembering the few times he had witnessed him with this look to his eyes. It was like a gray film covered his dark eyes and it brought out the worst in him when he spoke or did anything in general.

He had shown that same trait when he had knocked Alister out and then gone after Ushio in the cafeteria at school. He remembered the story from Marik, how he had leaped off the top of a set of lockers and attacked Ushio after gym. He recognized the look from when he had nearly shot his father at the dock only two months before.

Now the look was directed towards him and he had the instinct to flee but had to fight it down, unsure of what else to do. Yami needed someone with him for a little while—he would need someone for a bit longer. He had reopened both gunshot wounds and gotten them both infected just recently. He couldn't lift anything heavy for the time being or put any stress on his side…

"Fine," he said slowly, voice dropping to a hollow icy tone. "They're fine. I'm fine. Tired. Now, I'm trying to _eat_ breakfast so if you could just shut up, that might be nice."

Ryou swallowed hard, nodding at the way that he narrowed his eyes into slits and his lip curled back slightly. In the two-second window it took him to actually do so, Yami was back inside the kitchen. He would have gone to help him, to talk and keep him company, make sure he didn't do anything against the doctor's orders, but he knew better. It would be instantaneous if he got in his space. He wouldn't have a chance and Yami would skewer him like a fish.

He waited a long thirty minutes while Yami simply decided what to eat, then another ten while he cooked something that smelled like pancakes and eggs, and then another twenty while he took an _excruciatingly_ long time eating. Yami had made a point of glancing at him, chewing extremely slowly, swallowing and then turning away again to repeat the process. And if not for the fact that he had drugged him for answers before, he would have been flustered and demanding a reason why he was acting like this.

Then again, he remembered Yugi was angrier by far and Yami had been rather calm about it. He was wondering if it was Yugi being gone that made Yami so ready to snap at him. Perhaps he hadn't been nearly as calm as he had initially thought and Yugi being there had subdued his temper, distracted him from wanting to wring his neck. Ryou wondered vaguely when Yugi got back from the states…

Ryou stayed silent until Yami finally came out of the kitchen after doing the dishes and took up the job of seating himself on the armrest impatiently. He crossed his legs, narrowing his eyes and giving him a look that told him to hurry up, and the white-haired boy raced to do his task. Yami let him glide the stethoscope along his skin, breathing in deeply when he said, exhaling when he told him. The red-eyed teen even mumbled the word "ninety-nine" as he had done for the doctor at the hospital.

Ryou was happy with his cooperation but the results sucked. His lungs were still full of fluid, soot that made him rasp as he breathed. Each inhale was accompanied by a gentle sloshing that made him feel sick to his stomach with worry. Yami seemed pretty healthy though, aside from the way he constantly seemed to reopen his wounds without seeming to give an actual shit about it.

"Are you still doing as you were told before?" he asked softly, frowning as his brows furrowed.

"Elderberry every morning and followed up at night," Yami stated dismissively, getting to his feet and wandering towards his patio doors, glancing out into the backyard and turning back to him after a moment. "Grapefruit seed extract mixed in water, wash sinuses…I either bend over and pour it until it drains from the other side or with a nasal spray bottle—lots of sprays, always bending over and spraying until I feel like I'm drowning and then I blow my nose. I repeat as needed or as long as I can actually handle it. If I cough, I use the expectorant I have. I breathe in steam—hot peppers to get the sinuses to run and loosen the gunk. Or I can eat stuffed peppers if I want to. Lobelia extract—Aerobic Oxygen or 35% Hydrogen Peroxide in mix of ten drops and distilled water."

Ryou frowned, unsure of how to respond but guessing that he probably did everything so often that it was drilled effortlessly into his head by now. "Okay," he muttered, watching the red-eyed teen trace patterns on the table in front of him. "Um…if there's nothing else…?"

"You can't leave yet. Malik is coming later—it'll be a couple of hours," he muttered dismissively, flattening his palms against the smooth tabletop and smirking slightly as he raised his head. "Besides, I want to know more about the ketamine you gave me. Because, slowly but surely, my splotchy recollection of that night is _disappearing_ and I'm not so happy about that."

He cringed and took a seat on the armrest Yami had formerly occupied. "Yami, I'm so sorry—"

"I didn't ask for an apology," he spat viciously, cutting him off immediately. "I asked for information."

He flinched and looked at the floor, trying to make himself seem smaller for a split second. "It's an…animal tranquilizer. It's used to…induce anesthesia. It…um, well…it works in the brain to inhibit painful sensations." He sighed and ran a hand through his bangs, knowing instinctively that Yami was still watching him with eyes like sharpened knives. "It's…a dissociative anesthetic, actually. It distorts perceptions of sight and sound and produces feelings of detachment from the environment and self. It's extremely fast-acting. You might be aware of what is happening to you, but you are completely unable to move. It tends to cause memory problems. You might not be able to remember what happened while you were drugged."

"I didn't tell you to stop," Yami spat after a long minute of silence had passed. " _Tell me what the fuck you did to me_!"

He recoiled. "It causes distorted perceptions of sight and sound, lost sense of time and identity, out of body experiences, dream-like feelings, feeling out of control, impaired motor function, problems breathing, convulsions, vomiting, memory problems, numbness, loss of coordination, aggressive or violent behavior, depression, high blood pressure, and slurred speech."

"And waking up feeling heavily hung over and disoriented?" the other teen demanded icily, glaring at him furiously. "Having no memory of a period of time?"

"…That's something that often happens, yeah."

Yami narrowed his eyes and then turned away, breathing roughly once. " _More_. How did you do it?"

"It wasn't hard," he muttered, dragging his eyes up to glance at the furious teen. "Ketamine can be swallowed, snorted or injected. It's also sometimes smoked in cannabis or tobacco. The effects of ketamine are normally experienced within thirty seconds of injection, five to ten minutes if it's snorted, and up to twenty minutes if it's swallowed. I crushed a pill and dropped it into your drink when you weren't looking."

Yami narrowed his eyes. "I don't remember ordering any alcohol…"

"I wouldn't have drugged you if you had gotten alcohol!" Ryou objected immediately, looking affronted by the very thought and feeling almost sick when Yami raised his head and glared into his eyes. He wanted to look away but the other boy had to know that he hadn't meant to hurt him. "I would have just tried to get you drunk enough that you talked about what was going on between you and Yugi. I—"

"I have no _care_ for _why_ you drugged me," he hissed, lowering his voice and baring his teeth. "No, what I care about is what it has _done_ to me. Because I know for a fact that you gave me _far_ too much to merely get _information_."

"I…I gave you a little more than I planned," he admitted awkwardly, ducking his head in shame. "That was why you couldn't move when we got you out of the bar. It was why you almost threw up all over Yugi—which you somehow managed _not_ to do. Your body temperature spiked halfway through us getting you back and your heartbeat was way too fast. You were vomiting everywhere…and before I left, when you woke up, I know you were muttering about how your muscles hurt."

"You were there when I woke up?"

"I…yeah. I was there for all of five seconds before I fled for my house. I thought you were probably going to do what Yugi didn't and _actually_ mutilate me."

"You say that as if you think I won't do it now," he snarled softly, narrowing his eyes. "Speak, you little brat. Tell me more."

"Um…the day after usually gives you memory loss and impaired judgment and disorientation…There's also clumsiness, aches and pains and depression."

Yami stiffened for a split second and then turned his head away to look out in the yard. Sunlight dappled some of the grass from where its beams made it through the layer of leaves from the trees. Long shadows painted half of the yard dark green like holly berry leaves and the other beneath the sun seemed unnaturally bright, with a disgusting yellowish tint to it.

Depression—how lovely.

As if he didn't already have the threat of that looming over him.

He closed his eyes for a moment, the blades of grass and the concrete of his patio setting off a discolored pattern behind his eyelids. He reached up and rubbed his temples, shaking his head slowly.

"Get the fuck out of my house," he breathed coldly. "Get out now before I do what Yugi didn't and I have to bury you in the backyard."

Ryou was gone before he raised his head to look at the armrest again a few moments later. The soft click of the door made him breathe roughly once, listening to the whistle of air in his lungs, and he thought he could hear the soft tick of a clock somewhere in the house.

* * *

"Yami!"

He blinked, slightly surprised by the enthusiasm in his voice, and raised his head some, looking at the blue-violet-eyed boy on his screen. The white light on the side of his laptop's built-in camera struck at his attention but not enough to make him truly care. "Hey, Yugi," he murmured quietly, glancing around him and deeper into the room he occupied. The walls were a soft pink, a couple of posters littered the drywall, the bed's comforter looked to be purple with symbols thrown around in its design. He could see a closet door half open, a laundry hamper near it…

"Oh, he actually answered?" a voice hissed snidely. "Well isn't that new?"

Yugi turned his head, distracted for a split second, and then spun back on the other boy with a bright grin. "How are you?" he demanded, glancing sideways for a split second and narrowing his eyes before snickering.

Yami stayed silent for a moment, almost tempted to ask him about that night but deciding against it when he realized he would have to hear Rebecca's input as well. "I'm okay," he muttered, his head spinning with guilt for a split second. He probably should have tried to get Yugi alone, without Rebecca there listening, so he could try to get off his chest some of the things that currently plagued his mind. But instead he found himself forcing a light smile onto his face, glancing subconsciously at his own reflection in the bottom of the screen and feeling his stomach twist. Was the guilt noticeable in his eyes? Would Yugi notice the slight bags that were forming from his constant nightmares? Was it obvious that he was leaning further to his left than his right? Could he tell that he was frustrated? What could he see in him that he could not hide away? "How are you?"

"I'm good," the smaller boy stated immediately, glancing once more off-screen and sighing softly with a roll of his eyes. He swore that if Rebecca didn't stop showing off that drawing of two stick figures fucking he was going to lose his mind. It was cute the first time, considering what he was _hoping_ so terribly to get out of Yami with this video chat, but now it was starting to grate on his nerves. "Rebecca says that she hates you."

"Ah yes, the mutual emotion," Yami stated, crossing his arms and laying his chin on his hands, watching as Yugi took in the new posture with suspicious eyes. "Is she still so bitter?"

"Hey, at least if he was dating _me_ , he could be _assured_ that I would never ignore him for weeks on end like that," the blonde's voice chimed in a sickeningly sweet tone.

Yugi watched his eyes flash with bright pain before he shifted awkwardly and returned the barb with a crude, "Yes, why worry when he'll merely have to check his ass for your head?"

He snorted, shaking his head and covering his mouth as the girl let out an indignation squawk of a noise. Yami smirked playfully at him, winking and settling more comfortably once more. Rebecca narrowed her eyes from where she sat a few feet away, rearranging her bookshelf for the third time just that week. He knew for a fact that she only did it to get on his nerves and so that she had an excuse to listen in on his conversations by pretending to be unhappy with the arrangements she had resting before her.

"I bet his ass is warmer than your heart."

The red-eyed teen bristled slightly and then rolled his eyes. "Definitely. It's like a pool of lava where my heart is a windy tundra," he drawled, taking a glance towards the clock in the corner of the screen.

"He claims he actually has one," he heard her scoff.

"I actually do. It's suffering terrible erosion, however. Very hollow on the inside. The walls are being scraped apart. Eventually it will dissolve into nothing and maybe Yugi will find himself falling for you," he murmured softly, smiling when the other teen scoffed and rolled his eyes before blushing furiously and staring at something off-screen. He guessed Rebecca was giving him the evil eye as she had when they had crossed paths at the café.

"What? I can't help it!" he cried, sitting up and throwing his hands up innocently. "It was funny. Don't look at me like that, Becs!"

Yami heard her huffing softly from somewhere he couldn't see but Yugi was clearly laughing at the sight, rolling his eyes and shaking his head before plopping back into place. He watched him move his palms to support his chin, eyes bright as they searched his momentarily.

"So, have you gotten bored enough to open shop yet?" he asked, batting his eyes playfully as he moved a hand to his chest. "Because I just _know_ I was your number one source of entertainment."

He smiled softly, wrinkling his nose teasingly. "Bending you over _was_ my absolute source of entertainment."

"Ooh, them's be fighting words."

"Ha," Rebecca crowed loudly. "As if. He's just stating the truth."

Yugi gawked at her for a moment while Yami burst out laughing, the deep baritone chuckles making his cheeks heat with embarrassment for a split second. "Son of a bitch," he muttered under his breath, squeezing his eyes shut and shaking his head. "You two are such assholes. Why do I even like _either_ of you?"

"Because I'm the best sex you've ever had?" Yami offered, raising a brow and trying to give him a seductive smile that looked almost creepy as Yugi snorted and snickered.

"Because I'm the one that's going to point out how wrong you are for choosing him over me?" the blonde offered a split second later, making the smaller boy's smile fall completely for a moment. The left side of his mouth tugged downwards into a grimace, his eyes wandering towards her again before he turned back. "And then when you regret it all, I'll be the one listening to it and pointing out just how much better I would be for you."

He opened his mouth to speak again—and he could _see_ that Yami wasn't about to defend himself just because he recognized the withdrawal in his eyes—but Yugi cut him off immediately, snapping, "Yeah, well, in the meantime he can be my best regret, now can't he, Rebecca?" in such a sharp voice that he swore he heard her stop moving altogether. His jaw set in frustration, eyes flashing, Yugi glared at her from the side of the laptop, lips curling back in pure anger as he watched her for a moment. She studiously went about sorting through several covers of her books, ignoring him pointedly.

"Yugi," he murmured, trying to soothe some of the hurt that flared in his eyes. The smaller teen's head snapped towards him, frustrated, and his mouth opened momentarily, about to lash out at him before he stopped abruptly. He breathed in deeply, huffing viciously, and then ducked his head and settled for chewing his cheek instead. "Hey, so you're coming back in a few days."

Yugi almost snapped at him that he already knew that, bristling with contempt that Yami wasn't even trying to defend himself from her snide attack. He huffed again and turned to him, eyes blazing as he glowered at him. "Yeah," he answered shortly, "I am."

Why the hell didn't he even defend himself?

Why did he take that crap from her?

He knew he loved him back, so why the hell did not argue with her?

He _had_ to know how furious it always made him when he took an insult. He had to know just how darkly he resented it when he merely took a blow and didn't care to return one. Yami had to know that he grew tired of watching that hurt flash in his eyes without even a single consideration towards retaliation.

Why did he do that?

Did he really think it wasn't worth defending himself?

Yugi wished he could reach through the damn camera lens and smack him for it.

The taller teen narrowed his eyes faintly, red gaze flashing minutely with challenge. The smaller noticed in that second that the Puzzle's chain hung around his neck, glistening with some kind of artificial light whose source he couldn't find. Or perhaps it was just glowing. It had done that several times. And he wouldn't be surprised if it was doing so now.

He remembered holding it in the hospital, the way the artifact had burned everyone else that came into contact with it but had mercifully spared him. He remembered the way its deceptively smooth edges dug into his abdomen when he had kissed him the day his father had visited. Those edges contained all the threat of a double-edged sharpened sword. The polished gold sides were deceptively smooth, nice beneath one's fingers, but the edges spoke of danger and ill intent and he had always been sure never to touch them if it was avoidable.

"Anything special you wanted to do when you get back?"

Yugi felt a small prick of irritation beneath his skin and then instant guilt and a small warmth of affection. Trust Yami to try to change the subject when he knew he was angry. Trust him to try to soothe some of his irritation even if he went about it the wrong way at times.

"Not really," he admitted, glancing curiously towards Rebecca since she was so quiet; when had she left the room? He sat up and looked around for a long minute but he also noticed immediately that the door was shut where it had previously been open. So she had left him to his own devices with his boyfriend. He didn't know whether to be relieved that she had actually left for him to speak to him alone or frustrated that she had ditched him so suddenly. He was nowhere _near_ close to asking Yami what he had been dying to do so for the two hours he had been awake.

"Nothing jumps to mind?"

"No. Should it?"

"No, I suppose not. I just thought maybe you had something in mind to do when you came back."

He nearly laughed out loud. He had an idea of what he planned to do when they were together again. He did. He had so many plans for when they got together, most of them with Yami sprawled beneath him, flushed and pleasured out of his mind, but he had no plans to _tell_ him that.

"Not really. Do you have plans?"

"No."

He raised a brow and peered at him thoughtfully for a long moment; did Yami look a little different today? He furrowed his brows after a moment, narrowing his eyes and searching his face until Yami finally squirmed, giving him a confused look. His eyes were a little darker today, lacking the gray film that came with the Puzzle's influence, but definitely darker. They had a more solid hue to them than usual whereas they were normally mesmerizing with the beautiful flecks of every shade of red he could imagine lingering in his sharp irises.

Was that maroon?

Yugi couldn't honestly tell. It could have just been the lighting in his room as well. But his eyes were one uniform color, which was something that didn't often happen. Normally they showed with every fleck of the color, changed to a shade to reflect his mood but retained a little bit of brightness around his pupils.

He remembered looking up the shades of red a long while back, when he had first slept with the other boy, before they started dating. He'd been unable to sleep one night and his mind had traveled somewhere along the lines of either Yami's eyes or just the color red in general. Either way, he had taken note of each shade and tried to match it to his eyes whenever it was possible. And it was almost always possible because his eyes changed to every shade when he really fell into a certain mood.

"Yugi?"

His eyes were a little brighter but still pretty dark all the same. It was merely the curiosity that gave his irises a shift in color.

"Sorry, I was just thinking about something," he stated, shrugging off his attempt to figure out the color of his gaze. "So you don't have any plans for when I get back either huh?"

"No, I figured if I was going to make plans, I would do it with you instead of around you," Yami stated, blinking and looking skeptical of his response for a moment. "That aside, how has Rebecca been treating you?"

"Oh, you know…um…she tries to be sweet but it comes off as a little clingy. And it's not too often she has something actually…nice to say…" He trailed off, frowning and feeling a small pang of discomfort twisting in his gut. By the gods, why didn't Yami try to fight back with her? He wished he would have. It made no sense for him not to.

"Yeah, well, there aren't many nice things to say about that," he stated, shrugging dismissively. "But aside from that?"

"The states suck. I feel like every time I eat something I'll wake up three hundred pounds heavier." He glowered when Yami snorted a laugh. "Don't snicker at me! It's a serious concern! Have you ever seen the serving sizes here?"

He smiled softly, rolling his eyes. "I have," he stated simply. "Japan was not my father's first choice, Yugi."

The smaller teen considered that statement for a moment and then nodded a little. Yami's father had only sent Yami to Japan in the first place because of his mother's pleas on his behalf. If not for that, he would have ended up at the states. He'd probably be a miserable hollow thing of skin and bones, but he would have pleased his parents. Most likely Yami would never have heard about Mokuba's accident, would never have ended up getting drunk and then shacking up with someone else. Certainly not him, considering…

He shook his head slightly, throwing the idea aside. He didn't want to dwell on his boyfriend's parents, the pathetic fucking _monsters_ that they were. He didn't want to think about what would have happened if he had gone to the states rather than Japan. Yami was too much a part of his life—had been possibly from the moment he even laid eyes on him—and the very thought made him sick.

"Yeah, well…try staying here for more than a week. It makes you feel like some kind of parasite is living inside of you trying to make you bloated," he sniped, smiling lopsidedly when Yami chuckled and shook his head with a roll of his eyes. "I swear every time I put a piece of food in my mouth I'm just wondering when I'm going to puff up like someone wearing heavy clothing in winter."

"So fond of the American culture," he teased.

He grinned. "But of course, my dear little darkness," he purred. "I have such fondness in my heart that it's mind boggling."

"Sounds a little scary," he commented playfully, raising a brow and smiling a little. "You sure that parasite isn't messing with your brain and trying to make you love its homeland?"

Yugi gagged and then covered his mouth, blushing when the taller burst out laughing. He held his hands up, huffing. "There is no way in all the seven circles of hell that this could ever be a place that I could love," he muttered, shaking his head. "It's just so…polluted. And everything seems so different and weird and…half the time I think war is going to break out over whether someone wears the right purse with their outfit. Plus…most of the states don't even support gay marriage and it's a little unsettling being in a place where it's pretty obvious that they're against everything _involving_ homosexuality."

"I thought San Francisco supported gay marriage."

"The last time I checked, yeah, but I mean, it's still so weird. The state might support it, but that doesn't mean all the people do. I ran into a homophobic security guard at the mall just two days ago. And just…no, I don't like it here."

Yami nodded a little, neither of them mentioning that their own relationship was severely disapproved of. Their classmates shunned them, some tried to mess with them, and others just treated it like they had the plague. But it was more because they had messed up the social hierarchy at the school. Yami was still unsure of how it was such a massive deal that the two of them had ended up sleeping together in the first place. The social structure had never made sense to him; he wasn't sure if that was because of being home-schooled for so many years or if it was simply because he hadn't cared enough about it in the first place. It could have been a mixture but he didn't care enough to truly consider finding the answer to that. Either way, the nerd hadn't been meant to cross paths with the school's badass and their little affair had apparently shaken most of the students. Why it mattered to anyone else was beyond him but either way, it had happened, and he had grown so accustomed to it that the thought of the homophobia Yugi was talking about failed to make him blink. Japan more or less supported homosexual relationships, resting in neutrality, and so it was hardly anything he really thought about as it was.

Had it been Egypt, he would have been ashamed to even consider the idea of same sex relationships, something that had been drilled into his head all his life. He had never really cared if it happened or not but he had been taught to shy away from it. Yami shook the idea off and closed his eyes instead.

"So that aside, how has your stay been?"

"All in all it's been okay. Grandpa is having fun at least."

"Yeah?"

"Mmhmm. He seems to like the whole American experience but I think that's more because Arthur is fun to be around. Anyways, all in all it's been fun at least. Arthur and Rebecca never really leave a day open for nothing to do so we're normally running around—I think we're going to the art museum later today? And a…war museum tomorrow? I don't know. Grandpa and Arthur planned it out—lots of museums."

Yami chuckled and opened his eyes to find the expected roll of blue-violet eyes. "Well at least you're learning?"

"Uh, no," the smaller deadpanned, rolling his eyes once more with a soft scoff of a noise. "The most I've learned is how Rebecca likes to put her gum in a straw and shoot it at people when their outfits are hideous. She says she's preparing for a job among the fashion police later in life but we all know it's just because she likes to shoot wads of gum at people."

He chuckled and shook his head. "Well isn't that a nice little hobby."

"Entertaining at least. You should see some of the mystified, disgusted and comically insulted faces that some of the people make when they see that wad of gum and can't figure out where it came from."

"How many has she hit so far?"

"About fifty people at each place."

"Fucking—does she chew like a cow or something? I can't even chew fifty pieces in one day."

Yugi laughed. "I can usually chew about fifteen but then I get tired of the flavors and chewing in general. It's a daunting task."

"I can tell."

"Ha, I bet you haven't even _tried_ it before," he scoffed playfully, rolling his eyes and glancing towards the door for a second; he was kind of expecting her to come running back in at any second. The fact that she hadn't done so before now was almost unnerving in its own right.

"Oh gods, tell me you haven't been shooting people with chewed bubble gum."

Yugi stared at the door to keep from looking at him, biting his lip and pretending to be preoccupied with his nails after a moment. "Oh, look, a hangnail!"

"Oh my gods." He pressed his hand into his face and shook his head, sighing loudly. "I'm dating a deviant who shoots people with fucking gum balls that his friend taught him to make."

He pursed his lips for a moment and then snickered softly. "Hey, I'm cute enough that you can just…ignore that bad habit of mine, right?"

"I can't ignore anything about you," Yami snorted, rolling his eyes and scowling. "You're just too damn cute to ignore or forget something about you."

" _Aw_ ," Yugi teased, batting his lashes as he put a hand to his chest. "You flatter me _so_."

The taller teen grinned widely, snickering and shaking his head before glancing at the clock on the corner of the screen and fighting off the urge to rub his eyes. Curse the time difference. He was getting his ass kicked so easily with the lull of sleep. He'd have to change that by the time Yugi came back home.

"Tired?"

Yami rolled his eyes slightly and then shrugged. "It's two here after all," he muttered.

Yugi cringed and nibbled at his nail for a moment; he hated that his grandpa and Arthur kept them out literally all day. They woke them generally at ten to eleven and got them back home around twelve. Yami probably hadn't slept at all in terms of naps or anything else. "So—"

"How about you stop now before I decide to beat you up when you get back?" the taller sniped, rolling his eyes. "I'm not that tired. Keep talking."

He tilted his head after a moment, licking his lips and making Yami narrow his eyes faintly in curiosity. "How about I… _help_ you with that?" he asked silkily, the taller blinking and then frowning in puzzlement. "I know a way to make you really tired…"

He blinked twice and then turned his head away, chuckling. "You did not just insinuate what I think you just did."

"And if I _did_?"

"Do you want me to say no nicely or do you want me to be nasty?"

"Ooh, you're giving me a choice?" Yami turned his head, smirking with his eyebrow raised as the smaller boy's voice lifted in a singsong tone. "Hmm…well…why don't you…hit me with your best shot?"

He stared at him for a moment and then narrowed his eyes, scowling for a split second. "No," he grumbled, rolling his eyes and laying his head back down on his crossed arms. "I'm not having sex with you over video chat—just like I won't do phone sex with you either. Honestly, Yugi, what is _wrong_ with you?"

He opened and closed his mouth and then curled his lip back. "Forgive me for listening to my hormones a little bit," he snapped, feeling a small blush of something akin humiliation start to cross his cheeks. He'd known this wouldn't work but he'd wanted to at least _try_. After constant rejection of phone sex, he was starting to grow restless and unhappy. "You should try doing that some time."

Red eyes narrowed minutely. "Oh? And what would the point be of me doing that?"

"Relaxation? I mean, come on, you're normally knocked out hard when we have sex," he stated, growing flustered with the way Yami looked slightly affronted by the statement. "And besides, all couples do it!"

"It sounds degrading."

"Why the hell would it…?" Yugi shook his head and frowned at him unhappily. "Degrading? How would it be degrading, Yami? That makes no sense."

"Well, first of all, I would be doing this on video. Second, I know that Rebecca isn't completely gone and will _probably_ pop up at any moment and I do not wish to be doing something like that in front of her. Third, I'm more or less positive that you can actually pull video footage from this. And fourth, having video sex with you just to go sleep seems a little…"

Yugi waited for him to finish the statement but realized after a long moment that he wasn't going to. The smaller teen opened his mouth to snap at him to say it, but fell silent immediately, realization crossing his face. Aside from the idea of having something of footage of them, the concept of having video sex with him just to fall asleep made him think that he was using him like they had done when they had first started sleeping together. They had both used each other as distractions and ways to get out of the stressful situations they were in and Yami was reminded of that with his suggestion.

"Oh." He stayed silent for a long minute and then sighed and fell over onto his side on the bed, fighting off a groan. He knew already that he didn't have to tell him that it wouldn't be like that but even if he had somehow managed to convince him it was okay, it would still be there in the back of his head. One of the things that Yugi had grown to realize about the red-eyed boy was that he unconsciously dwelled on things without even meaning to. And when he dwelled on something, there was no changing his mind because it circulated back to it constantly. "Well, there goes any chance of Mr. Happy springing to life tonight."

Yami blushed furiously and then ducked his head. "Oh, well tell him I apologize."

Yugi snorted and rolled his eyes, moving onto his back and stretching himself out like a cat for a moment. "Yeah, you better apologize to him. He was looking forward to it all day and now he's getting nothing."

"Many apologies, Mr. Happy," he cooed quietly. "I'm afraid you'll have to stay dormant for a little while longer."

"You suck. Hard."

"Actually, I believe that's _your_ job, little one."

He rolled over and glared. "You cheeky little tease."

"Oh yes, definitely. I am a cheeky little tease."

"Said with such happiness."

"I'm just glad my attempts are so very appreciated."

"Ha, they're nothing but a pain in my ass."

"For some reason I thought that would be reversed."

Yugi's eyes narrowed, lips curling up into a lopsided smirk. "Damn straight it will. By the time I'm done with you, you'll be one with the mattress."

"You know, someone once told me they became one with a rock," the taller teen commented, voice taking on a somewhat awkwardly thoughtful tone. "He said that once he cleared his mind and _accepted_ the rock, it flashed him."

Yugi threw his head back, howling and nearly falling off the bed after a minute, lungs and ribs starting to ache. He glanced at Yami again through his lashes, tears in his eyes, and found the most contemplative expression he had ever seen. His brows were knitted faintly, his eyes narrowed, lips taking on a small purse, head tilted to the side, chin raised slightly where it rested on his knuckles. "Oh my _god_!"

"Apparently rocks are very complex creatures," the taller teen commented, smirking playfully when he started to fall off the bed. "Flashed him so many colors that it 'changed his life'."

"Who the fuck told you _that_?" he gasped out, wiping his eyes and grabbing the comforter before scrambling to get closer to the center of the mattress.

Yami bit his lip for a moment and then looked at the ceiling. "I think it might have been my uncle?" he muttered thoughtfully. "Either it was him or Malik was stoned. I don't remember. They're all fucking crazy."

He curled up into a ball for a moment, face too red and entire body shaking with his laughter. "Oh my god," he breathed out, shaking his head and looking at his boyfriend to find him snickering softly. "Are you serious right now?"

"Oh yes. And what makes it even better is just how _proud_ and excited they were when they told me."

"That sounds more like something I could see Bakura saying," Yugi admitted, biting his lip and then managing to settle down just enough to breathe raggedly. In all actuality he didn't know Yami's cousins very well but from overall interactions, he thought maybe Bakura was the more likely of the two to get stoned. Malik seemed more like someone he could see tripping on acid and doing the harder stuff. Bakura was more…managed when it came down to it, or at least Yugi thought so anyways.

"Oh no, it definitely wasn't Bakura because he was actually next to me in stitches and had to leave the room for an hour and a half," he commented mirthfully. "I remember his response too. 'Oh holy fuck, I can't breathe—fucking morons'."

Yugi grinned widely. He may not have known Bakura or Malik past a couple of conversations revolving around Yami, but he knew Bakura had a mouth stained black with cursing. Malik was more mild but he had seen him lose his temper at one point, cursing out a teacher so violently in the hallway that he got detention for a whole two months. But that definitely sounded like Bakura—the silver-haired teen just plain cursed as much as he wanted in general, without a second thought. And when he was laughing, he seemed to let loose more curses than anything else.

"Definitely Bakura," he snorted, rolling his eyes and watching his boyfriend nod before looking briefly towards the ceiling. "How long ago was this anyways?"

Yami had to take a long minute to consider, head starting to take on a small throb in the forefront of his skull. "Hmm…I would have to say a couple of years back? Well, definitely before I came to Domino. Bakura and Malik used to go to Egypt every now and then—it was rare but every couple of years or so they used to. I think it might have been the winter before I came to Domino maybe? I think Bakura's parents might have been the ones to help my mother convince my father to let me move down here…"

Yugi tried hard not to spit at him not to call them that. Half the time he wanted to smack him for even mentioning them in a conversation. They weren't parents worth shit. And they didn't deserve to be called that, even in passing. They had disowned him months ago but Yugi had never once heard him address them as much more than an unhappy "mom" or "mother" and _always_ "father". It had been drilled into him that his parents were to be given far more respect than they deserved, his "father" especially, and all his life he had called his "father" by that title. Yugi hated hearing the words coming out of his mouth, always wanted to tell him to call them something generic like his "sperm donor" and "incubator" because when it came down to it, that was all they were as far as he was concerned. They didn't deserve the respect that they had tried to force him to learn and they didn't have the right to be called parents either. _Especially_ not Yami's.

He blinked at the screen thoughtfully and then frowned; Yugi was trying not to show his disdain but his eyes were flashing with open hatred and his jaw had grown fixed…

"Yugi…"

The smaller teen turned his head away, huffing loudly and letting out a growling noise from deep in his throat before looking at him again. "So, your uncle? You've never mentioned him before. What's he like?"

Yami stayed quiet for a moment. "Dead apparently," he commented with a dry smirk before shrugging. "Apparently I wasn't the only one who had their ties cut with the ambassador and his wife. That aside…I don't really know him. I met him all of twice in my life. He's twins with my dad though but they apparently…hate each other or something. I don't really know, in all actuality."

Yugi stayed silent and then nodded slowly. "Oh. Did you like him when you met him?"

"Like him?" He had to consider the question, frowning and tilting his head. "He's…a lot like my father, actually. All about control and manipulation. But he wasn't…as obvious, I suppose you could say. If he put his mind to it, he could probably convince someone that they had a brain tumor where there was none. I remember a lot of stories about how much of a bastard he is but nothing that I cared to really listen to. I only remember him trying to…"

Yugi frowned and waited as Yami trailed off for a second.

Eyebrows furrowed as his head throbbed a little more persistently, the taller mumbled, "I only really remember him trying to make me side with him when he was over. I don't even really remember what he looks like or anything. Just some small bits of his personality…"

"You don't remember him? Why wouldn't you remember him?"

From what he knew, Yami tended to have a photogenic memory and retained almost everything until he decided he didn't need it anymore. Then it was stored somewhere in the back of his mind and only drawn forward again when he truly needed it. But he couldn't really fathom Yami doing that with a family member. Especially when he himself didn't seem to have much of a problem with them as far as he could tell.

Yami opened and closed his mouth and then sighed loudly. "Because those times he was there, I was either sick or my dad refused to let me actually look at his face. He said something about him being too much of a disgrace for his son to look upon or something. And I wasn't so stupid as to think my father wouldn't beat me within half an inch of my life if I did look at his face."

Yugi breathed out roughly. "And the _other_ one?"

He took a second to realize he meant his mother, frowning faintly at the thought. "She wouldn't have stopped him." He shrugged uncomfortably and barely resisted the urge to reach up and rub his throbbing temple. "She goes by everything he says anyways."

He gripped the comforter tightly for a moment, the fibers itchy against his palm. "Yeah, all right," he muttered. Stupid worthless woman; how dare she just stand by and watch her husband beat her son like that. He almost wished he could meet her just so that he could tear her a new one. But he always wondered if she was even vaguely like her husband, if she was just as intimidating. It wouldn't have mattered if he could get his hands on her, but he still always had to wonder. It was pretty obvious that Yami actually got most of his looks from his father, with exception of the long lashes and the narrow eyes. But his sharp jaw and the depth in his red eyes, the way he held himself—he knew deep inside of him, despite how much he hated to attribute anything concerning Yami to the bastard—came from the ambassador.

His eyes softened from where they had been glittering jewels colored blue-violet, smiling gently. "You should get some rest."

Yami blinked wide red eyes, startled by the statement and then frowned faintly. "Perhaps," he muttered softly. In retrospect, he was tired and did want to curl up on his side, lay down and put a rest to the pain in his head. But sleep? He would rather have Pegasus come back from the grave and stab him through the heart like he had done to him.

"Seriously, koi, go to sleep. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

He opened his mouth to argue but ended up yawning instead, sighing after a moment. "Yeah, all right," he muttered, chewing his cheek. "I'll call you tomorrow—"

Yugi raised a brow questioningly. "Ha, you call me? Nice try. You know you call me and I'm asleep and I'll ignore you for the next week," he teased, though a small bit of seriousness lingered in his eyes that made Yami blush faintly.

"Right, forgot about that," he chuckled softly, ducking his head. "I forget sometimes why it's only you who calls me every night."

"Well then, I'm glad I could remind you," the smaller snickered. He glanced towards the door for a moment and then turned back. "Night, darkness…may you have just as frustrating sex dreams as me."

Yami burst out laughing. "Aw, how sweet of you to say that." Yugi blinked when he saw something flash in his eyes, a momentary shift in color that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. He wanted to call him out on it but Yami was immediately over it again, smiling. "Night, little one."

Yugi almost hit the exit button but remembered just before he could. "Love you."

He stayed silent for a split second, almost as if hesitating but looking far more lost in thought than he could have if he was merely trying to consider saying the words back. "I love you too, Yugi," he stated after a moment, hitting the red X in the corner of the screen and narrowing his eyes.

He wondered if he could avoid him. He was silent, after all, and normally he would have spoken by now if he had need of saying something. But his head was starting to throb a little more and his patience was slowly but surely wearing thin with that idea. He had to be there for a reason…

Yami glanced at him sideways for a moment and then straightened into a seated position, tapping his fingers against the keyboard briefly. "What brought you out? I haven't seen you in a while, Atem," he murmured quietly.

The spirit looked at him curiously for a moment before shrugging dismissively. "You seemed pretty distressed a second ago."

"I don't want to go to sleep," he hissed sharply. "Surely you know why."

He hesitated for a moment and then turned away to glance at the window briefly. "Yes." The spirit stayed silent for a long minute and then turned his head to regard him with a frown. "But you're ignoring it."

"I don't understand it so what is there to ignore, Atem?" he shot back angrily. "I have no fucking idea what I should do with those nightmares. Did the Puzzle used to give you nightmares?"

"…They're normally premonitions if they go on for a certain amount of time—and you've definitely passed it." The pharaoh cleared his throat and narrowed his eyes into slits for a moment. "What happens in them?"

"I can't actually see anything aside from bloodstained walls and a couple of mutilated bodies." Yami stayed quiet for a moment and then bared his teeth. "Don't say what you're about to."

The spirit sighed loudly and put his hands in his lap, kicking his feet briefly. "If you've _noticed_ it then why aren't you—?"

"Fuck you. There's nothing I actually _can_ do," he spat. "And besides that, it's their business whatever happens to them. I don't care anymore."

* * *

 **I promise to try to make an update every Wednesday, but I don't promise that I'll always make it happen. If there are any questions about the story, feel free to go ahead and ask. I'll answer any and all questions you might have, but I won't ruin the plot for the story, so keep that in mind. If it's going to be too big an element in it, I'm going to tell you what chapter you'll get the answer in and leave it at that (if I know what chapter it'll be in when you ask; otherwise you'll get a vague "It'll come up later").**

 **Thanks for stopping by and reading, I appreciate it~**


	2. Phone Sex

**Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Yu-Gi-Oh**

 **Update Schedule: I'm going to try for every Wednesday (wish me luck)**

 **Story Warning: Cursing will go from mild to excessive at times, depending on the character speaking and the situation they're in (I don't think they'll curse nearly as much as they did in _Simple_ though)**

 **Note: Yugi is in California, Yami is still in Domino. The time difference is pretty big. I had to struggle with it several times to keep it from getting out of hand for me. If I'm inconsistent at some point, that's why. I have never been all that great with time zones so, yeah, I'm just going to throw that out there.**

 **I was GOING to wait until tomorrow and post, but I don't think I'll have the time to do that. Tomorrow is going to be pretty much busy from the moment I get up. So, because of that, I decided to go ahead and post early. Happy Halloween~! Enjoy the banter and the craziness that _is_ Yugi and Yami.**

Chapter II: Phone Sex

Yami raised a brow in confusion for a split second before grabbing his phone and sliding the icon to engage in conversation. "Yugi?" he asked, half of him completely sure that it was going to be Rebecca on the other line calling because it seemed far too early for Yugi to be doing so. He glanced at the clock to find it was only seven-thirty in the morning; it was five in the afternoon over there then.

He had woken from yet another nightmare, unsure of what more to do other than fiddle with what homework assignments he hadn't finished yet. He still had to make a couple of copies for when Yugi came back because midterms were coming up. And it was a well-known fact that most—if not all—of the teachers were sharing study materials and homework assignments. He wouldn't remember the answers by the time Yugi came back, ready to forget them immediately when he was done, but he also didn't want him to fall behind.

He blinked wide eyes when he heard the other teen's voice, the way his voice was lowered drastically, almost into a growl of frustration. "Yami."

He stayed quiet for a moment and then snickered. Oh yeah, he definitely recognized that tone. It was the one he made when he got sexually frustrated and had no means of release—it was actually pretty common during some of their phone calls though normally controlled by the time of day.

"I wasn't expecting you to be awake right about now."

"I woke up a little early. Couldn't fall back asleep just yet."

"Hmm…"

"Are you okay?"

"No," Yugi snapped violently, pausing for a split second to breathe roughly. "I mean—yeah, but no. Fuck, I…Look, _please_ just do this with me—I promise I won't ask you again!"

He had to bite back his laughter, chewing his lip hard enough to draw blood and shook his head slowly. "Yugi—"

"Don't 'Yugi' me," he scoffed angrily. "Seriously, Yami! Just once!"

"No, Yugi—"

"You hate me."

"I love you." He paused and sighed softly, rolling his eyes. "But I'm not going to have phone sex with you."

"Goddamn it," Yugi spat, sounding almost out of breath before huffing again.

"Is that the only reason you called?"

"No. I also called to say that you better be ready for when I get home."

Yami burst out laughing. "Oh?"

"Damn straight!" The taller teen cringed when he heard a loud wolf whistle from the other boy before he continued talking. "Your house is the first place I'm going."

"Oh really now?" He grinned widely, licking his lips and narrowing his eyes. "Why is that, little one?"

"Do you want me to make you a fucking list? I mean, I'll make you a list if I have to, just fucking be ready for it," he snapped, growling loudly when Yami snorted softly in amusement and shuffled the sheets of paper around in front of him.

"A list, huh?" he commented playfully, laughter bleeding into his tone. "That's different."

"Yeah, you little asshole," he ground out behind his teeth, annoyed with his laughter and the fact that Yami wasn't dying with sexual frustration like he was. Then again, he supposed that wasn't so much his fault as Rebecca had just made him watch a movie with her. Ironically, in all of its awkwardness, the movie had turned out to be mostly about sex, leaving him aching and hard and imagining him and Yami in positions that were too unrealistic to truly happen but pleasing to his mind anyways. "It goes like _this_. You're sexy as all fuck. _Imagine_ how good you'll feel when I fuck you. I'm fucking tired of having sex dreams and no actual _action_. And you know I love you. So…reason enough?"

Yami burst out laughing and Yugi watched Rebecca shoot a spitball at a girl with horrible fashion sense. The blonde gave him a thumb up that he smirked at and then started to make another. Just two hours before he had been sitting on the couch watching that movie with her just before they were dragged out of the house for yet another trip to a museum. This time it was an art museum and since they weren't allowed to have gum inside, Rebecca had brought a little notebook of paper and a straw and was aiming from her spot on a bench a few feet away from him.

"I have to say, I'm flattered," he teased, glancing at his homework and flipping a sheet over curiously. "But you don't have to do that just to get in my pants."

"Ha, all I have to do is show up," Yugi snorted, a slightly scornful edge to his voice beneath the laughter. Yami rolled his eyes, smiling in amusement; he was still that upset about something he _knew_ better than to ask for anyways? The smaller teen seemed to realize how his voice had come out because he made sure to soften his tone when he spoke again. "How long have you been awake anyways?"

"About thirty minutes," he lied, blinking and chewing his cheek before shaking his head to kill any thought of telling him he had been awake for several hours now. He had to have gotten all of two hours of sleep before the nightmares had been too much for him to deal with. He flipped a paper over once more and set it aside into his math section of work.

"Hmm…" He watched a girl take a spitball to her arm and Rebecca quickly turn away to pretend to admire a painting. His lips twitched into a grin as she winked at him playfully and then turned away again. He took in a small painting about something to do with the Civil War but didn't care enough to truly take it in. "So, do you have a case of blue balls too or is that just me?"

Yami snorted in amusement. "Well I would say yes but I want to pretend I don't so _nope_ , just you, Yugi."

"Lying little shit," he snickered, rolling his eyes. He snapped his fingers and his blonde friend turned to him immediately. He gestured discreetly with a dismissive wave of his hand and she turned to search immediately. He burst into snickers as she got the little girl in the back of the head and then feigned innocence when the mom looked towards them suspiciously. "You're an ass."

"Well yeah, I am more or less one hundred percent sure that's what you like the most about me."

Yugi made a low noise in the back of his throat. "Don't tease me," he snapped, sighing softly and glancing over his shoulder. He didn't bother correcting him, instead going forward with the conversation once more. "Then again, actually, keep going. I'll make you pay for it later anyways."

"Is that so?"

"Damn straight."

"Hmm…to take the bait or not to take the bait," he sang softly, whistling the end of the statement and grinning widely. "Well, I could call your bluff and say that I'm anticipating it or I could say that you don't have the _moves_ to make me pay."

Yugi's mouth fell open before he laughed loudly, indignation painting his cheeks red. "Oh yeah?" he shot back, narrowing his eyes and fighting more heat from his face. "You think so, Yami?"

"Oh, _please,_ Yugi, I know so."

He laughed out loud once before hissing, "I'm so going to kick your ass when I get back."

"Um, I'm pretty sure that's _not_ what you want to do with my ass, Yugi."

" _That does it_ ," he spat, shivering once. "I'm so going to fuck you until you can't stand straight."

" _Ooh,_ " Yami sang, purring. "Is that _so_? You really think you have the skills to do that?"

"If I didn't, you wouldn't have pulled that muscle before," he stated smugly, smirking widely and crossing his arms as Rebecca turned to him with her mouth open. A couple of others turned their heads in his direction and he glared at them until they all looked away again.

"…Damn it," Yami muttered under his breath. "I forgot about that."

"Well now I'm officially offended cause that had to be the best sex you've _ever_ had and you just totally challenged my skills. I think I need to refresh your memory, huh?"

His chuckles made his spine tingle with satisfaction. "My memory does seem pretty fuzzy," he teased softly. "Oh so _very_ fuzzy. Are you sure I didn't pull a muscle fucking you?"

"You were the one limping for two weeks. You tell me, Yami."

Yugi grinned when his voice came out momentarily flustered. "Hmm…surprising that you could do that when, if I remember correctly, it was _you_ who said they thought the couch cushions were _magically_ transforming into my ass."

His mouth fell open, eyes wide in shock at the statement as his cheeks turned bright red and several looked at him over their shoulders from where they had been formerly listening. "You did not just bring that up," he hissed.

"I think I just did."

"No, no, I know you didn't because if you _did_ that would mean we would have to declare all out war."

"Ra _knows_ you're ready to fire off."

He covered his face with his free hand, shaking his head and trying to come up with something to say. Tired or not, Yami was somehow managing to kick his ass now that he had gotten out of the corner he had tried to force him into. By the gods, he needed to step his game up with this.

"Hey! You're the one who came early before!"

"Hmm, yes, yes I did. _But_ I was also in the hospital with a catheter up my penis. So technically that could have been a delayed orgasm from when they gave me a handjob to get it out."

Yugi opened and closed his mouth, clearing his throat awkwardly as his mouth went dry. For a second he wanted to snap at him about letting someone touch him like that but then immediately remembered the situation and huffed unhappily.

"You sure you don't have medical issues with that? Cause I don't think it's normal to have a delayed reaction to that kind of thing."

"Aw, but you say that like you haven't tried to solicit yourself to me thirteen times already." He paused, purring softly in amusement. "Or you weren't just complaining about the worst case of blue balls ever."

"You're the one who won't _venture_!" he managed to breathe out, voice taking on a husky undertone before he bared his teeth. "It's not my fault you're so stagnant."

"If I were stagnant, you would never have gotten inside me in the first place."

He groaned low in his throat. "Damn it, Yami, stop teasing me," he snapped.

"What, you don't like your phone sex?"

"This is not phone sex, you asshole!"

"Hmm…I seem to have misunderstood the idea. Explain it to me again."

"Oh my god."

" _Besides_ , if I really need to, there's always just going to get a prostate exam."

"No! That is _my_ ass you're talking about letting someone _else_ finger!"

"Well, _technically_ , it's attached to _me_ and as you pointed out, I should be _worried_ about having such a delayed reaction." He paused. "My merchandise must be kept in tip top shape so I should have it examined. Hmm…I wonder if he'll _compliment_ it too."

" _My butt!_ " Yugi cried loudly. "No, you can't take my butt to have a prostate exam! It's mine! No sharing!"

"My health is on the line, Yugi. I don't think you can change my mind now."

"No, no, I take it back. I—what was that I said about—Ha, no, never—oh my god, don't do it! I'll always wonder who else was there!"

"I could take a picture for you—"

" _Yami_!"

"What?"

"I'll stop asking you if you just—god, just stop!"

"Oh, will you now?"

" _Yes_. I won't even bring it up again—ever! Just…oh my god, just don't do it."

"Well then, as long as we know we're not getting phone sex anytime soon, I'm glad we had this talk."

Yugi sniffled a little and awkwardly scuffed his shoe against the carpet for a moment. "God, I'll never fucking ask you for anything anymore," he scoffed, huffing loudly. "Rude ass bastard."

" _Rude_."

"Yes you are."

"You want to go again?"

" _No_! I still have a _little_ dig…" He trailed off, glancing at some of the people who were watching him before ducking his head and trying to make himself seem smaller as he scrambled into a small display room. "Okay, apparently I don't even have a _shred_ of dignity left thanks to you."

"Your fault for being out in public and asking me for this."

"I didn't ask you for— _grr_."

"Don't you growl at me!"

"I'll growl all I—"

"Prostate exam here I _come_!"

"Stop that! Okay, okay, I won't growl at you!"

"You're a dork," Yami laughed affectionately. "As if I'm going to let someone stick their finger up my ass."

Yugi bit back his initial response of "What do you call prepping you then? Cause I _know_ my fingers go up there" and sucked in a deep breath. "Outside of the bedroom," he mumbled instead.

"…Yes. Outside of the bedroom."

He fought back his initial response of "We've fucked in the school bathroom too, remember? Definitely not a bedroom" and instead bit his cheek hard. "And only me."

"Yes, and only you."

Yugi nodded after a moment, sighing loudly and then muttering, "Asshole" that was disguised halfway as a cough that made him smirk in amusement. "Well, now that…you've crushed my dreams, how's your day been so far?"

"I've only been awake for thirty minutes—"

"Yeah, sure," he drawled sarcastically. "I believe that, uh-huh. Do I look stupid, Yami? You looked like shit last night on video chat. It's pretty obvious that you haven't been sleeping well lately."

Yami stayed silent for a long minute, debating trying to change the subject and feeling sick to his stomach when he couldn't find a topic, mind growing completely blank. He awkwardly thumbed the corner of a worksheet, chewing his lip and finally sighing, "I guess it's because I miss you so much. I'm used to you being here and all that. Your absence has thrown my sleeping habits off."

He frowned, expecting the statement to be something easier to navigate. But all he could hear was sincerity and it made his stomach churn as he peeked around the corner. Arthur and his grandpa were laughing softly, glancing at him occasionally, but everyone else seemed to more or less be focused on the artwork around them now.

"Oh."

What was he supposed to say to that? Yugi couldn't find a way to say just how much that both made him feel guilty and overjoyed. And that only made him feel even worse as he swallowed hard and shivered once. He half wanted to vomit, anxious now as he got to his feet but didn't venture back out into the main room. A small slideshow caught his attention as he looked for something to distract him, and he wandered forward to glance inside the binoculars.

He was still trying to grow used to even being with Yami in the first place. He'd slept with him tons of times, kissed him more than that, felt almost like he could know him inside and out if he tried, and yet calling him his boyfriend still made him hesitate. Yami was literally the only person he had ever been with, the only one who interested him, and yet being in a relationship with him scared him. He had never really believed in relationships in the first place; his own parents had gotten divorced and remarried more times than he could count. His dad's side of the family was always cheating and threatening to get divorced and just seemed to get _stuck_ in their commitments. The only actual love story he had from his family was his grandpa and his grandma, who had died a few years before he was even born. And even that story made him feel sick because they had been on-and-off-again for several years before settling down. He knew from being around his dad's parents that they had nothing but a marriage born from money and citizenship in the states. His grandmother held all the power and his grandfather bowed down as if he were spineless.

Yugi had never once wanted to be stuck in something even remotely like that. He had always thought that relationships were perfectly worthless and love was some kind of joke. And yet, he knew he loved Yami, even if he was still scared at times to even say it or think it. He showed it more often than he could manage to voice it. And Yami seemed okay with that, but every now and then, when he said something like this, it made him want to run before he ended up like the others in his family.

The thought of the red-eyed teen being so caught up in him, missing him so keenly that it threw his sleep off, scared him to the point that he almost wanted to hang up.

He forced a small breath out, biting his lip hard to keep from saying something stupid, and listened to papers being moved around in the background. Yami would never actually ask him to say it back if he didn't want to, would never attempt to make him uncomfortable, and it was comforting to know that it didn't bother him nearly as much as it would have someone else. Yami was lenient with this, supported his moments of struggling with the idea of being with him like they were, and Yugi had to admit he loved him even more for it.

"How has your day been?"

Yugi frowned, unsure if he should take the bait and run with the subject change or if he should try to reassure him. Yami didn't need reassurance and he knew that well enough but the idea of having him confess something like that and not sharing something equal in response made his heart ache.

"It's been okay," he finally mumbled, feeling his stomach twist at his cowardice. He looked at a slide where the two armies were colliding, dead bodies and guns everywhere, and then pulled away again. "We need to get something to eat soon. I'm starving."

"Ah, so you're going to _feed_ that lovely little parasite."

"You don't know the meaning of hunger until you spend all day running around with these people, having your grandpa look at you strangely whenever you check the time on your phone, and skip through breakfast and lunch cause your shower _apparently_ 'took up all of your mealtime'. Don't play with me, Yami!"

The other teen laughed softly into the phone. "That sounds awkwardly hilarious. I'm a little disappointed I didn't get to see that."

"Ha, you didn't miss anything. I nearly took Rebecca's eye out earlier when she was eating a snack in front of me and wouldn't share."

"You're a violent person when you aren't fed," Yami recalled, smirking when Yugi agreed quietly and then went silent for a moment.

"Son of a bitch," he muttered. "Fed? _Really_ Yami? You're saying you feed me…like a _pet_?"

"I'm surprised it took you that long to notice."

"Let me reiterate an earlier statement I made," he hissed, clearing his throat once. " _Asshole_. Ass-motherfucking-hole."

"Yugi," Rebecca sang as she poked her head in; the blue-violet-eyed boy spun around, blinking, and Yami stayed perfectly silent on the other end. "We're about to go ahead and get something to eat so we need you to stop having phone sex with Yami."

"It was not—oh my god…Holy crap. How loud did I…?"

"So loud that Grandpa ended up asking Solomon if you were deaf in one ear and needed to yell to clarify things."

" _Damn it_. Don't you dare laugh, asshole! You're not allowed to laugh!"

* * *

Yugi looked at the ticket for a long minute, crossing his legs and narrowing his eyes; the more he glanced away and then back again, the more he could almost convince himself the date was getting a lot closer than it seemed. He flapped it loudly for a moment and then dropped it onto the nightstand next to him, nudging the end under the lamp and sighing.

For two hours he had been sitting in the blonde's room, messing with the ticket because he really wanted to go home. He really wanted to see Yami. And he _really_ wanted the taste of American food out of his mouth. He thought his taste-buds would never be the same at this point.

He could still hear his grandpa and Arthur and Rebecca downstairs, playing some board games that he had ditched the moment they had gotten into the house. Ever since he hadn't been able to respond to Yami's comment about his sleeping patterns he had been fighting off bouts of anxiety. Most of them revolved around the _very_ unlikely, almost impossibly stupid idea that Yami might have found serious offense in his use of the way out he had given him. He was constantly struggling to remind himself that Yami wouldn't have given him a way out if he would become mad that he used it later. The red-eyed teen fought tooth and nail and redirected when he took a way out when they really needed to talk about something. The last time they had fought over something had been Yugi getting into a fight with the redhead Alister when he looked at Yami funny. The argument that had erupted between them had been settled a couple of hours later when Yami fell silent and refused to speak and Yugi was almost blue in the face.

Yami had gone quiet when he had hesitated and said "Oh" but it was most likely just because he hadn't really expected a statement in response. Probably he had just said it, wanted him to hear it, and then didn't care to have them discuss it. His "Oh" had probably been the very answer he was expecting anyways.

Still Yugi was finding it hard to concentrate on anything else but the unrealistic fear that he was going to call him back angry and offended and break up with him or something stupid like that. Even while they had been eating pizza at the restaurant—the only good food in America, he _swore_ —and they had all been bantering, he had ended up wondering if his phone was going to ring with Yami's number.

Most of the time they had been back he had been trying to work up the nerve to call him back and say something in response. If only because he didn't want Yami to feel like he didn't feel the same. He may have had Rebecca sleeping next to him because of the guestroom's current state, but he hardly could find enough sleep through the night. It roughly boiled down to about a four hour long nap every other day and periods of sleep that amounted to almost nothing.

He still needed to call Yami later, before the other teen went to sleep or else he would end up feeling even worse than he did now. He was aware of how stupid he was acting, because Yami wasn't one of those people who overreacted over something like this and he probably didn't even care in the moment he said it either. But he was still having trouble even remembering that in the first place.

He fumbled with his phone for a moment, debating calling him and looking at the time with a grimace. It had only been a couple of hours since he had called the first time. And Yami was probably doing something by now—it was at least nine in the morning over there, close to ten, and he was normally up and doing things by then.

He flinched as he thought about that for a moment.

Tomorrow Yami would be getting back into school and the only chance he would have to talk to him would be early in the morning or late in the afternoon. The other teen wouldn't answer his calls during school, as far as he knew, though he might if he kept calling. Either way, Yugi was going to have to figure out ideal times for when he could and couldn't call.

Damn time differences.

He ran his hands through his hair, tugging on the long blue-violet-tipped black strands and sighing loudly. He had already tried talking his grandpa into letting him go home early and had failed miserably when he kept pulling out the "Yami will be fine, absence makes the heart grow fonder" card when he would see through each pitch he had. At one point he had claimed he had been bitten by a radioactive spider and the states didn't have the right equipment to take the venom out. Of course they'd laughed at him the whole day and half of the next, but it was when he was running out of excuses.

Now if only he could convince Yami to call him up acting frantic and panicking and _begging_ him to come home. But the other boy had rejected the idea twelve times already and he had a feeling if he asked again, he might get something akin the phone sex incident at the museum.

And he was not looking forward to rehashing that incident.

His cheeks burned slightly at the idea even as he started dialing the number.

The phone rang twice before it went to voicemail. His skin prickled with annoyance as he looked at the screen. Yami was probably busy but it still made him huff as he glared at the other boy's number.

He waited a few minutes and then dialed back again, the same response coming before a text appeared saying _Give me twenty minutes_. _I'm arguing with Seto right now_.

Yugi curled up on the bed in a ball, groaning just as Rebecca popped her head in, laughing, "Come downstairs—we're about to play Monopoly!"

He cringed slightly and then got to his feet; why not? Besides, odds were, the blonde would end up knocking the board over a few minutes in anyways. No one could keep playing that game against him for long.

He bit his lip, snickering at the thought of how Rebecca had refused to talk to him for two full weeks because of the _only_ time they had managed to play a full game.

Hell, she had handled his choice of dating Yami better than she had losing that game of Monopoly. That alone said _so_ much about the game.

"Glad to see that you're taking a break from phone sex with Yami to play a game with us," his grandpa snickered, making his cheeks heat momentarily.

"Shut up. That wasn't even what we were doing!"

"Right, forgot you two don't even _play_ doctor," he snorted.

Yugi stared at him in horror, remembering the numerous tales about the "doctor" sex game he and his grandma had played when Solomon had noticed the growth of Tea's breasts one morning before school. Since that day he had been trying to convince Yugi that if nothing else worked he could challenge her to a game of it.

"Just for that, you're going to be the first to go bankrupt," he growled playfully, taking a seat next to the blonde and his grandpa whose mustache twitched as he snickered. Yugi shook his head and grabbed a piece, waiting for Arthur to pass out their money.

"It's a damn shame you don't play it though. I bet you would be great at it."

Rebecca snorted loudly, covering her mouth as she burst out laughing. Yugi was sorely tempted to call it quits immediately, shaking his head and rolling his eyes. His grandpa had to be the single most perverse person in existence.

"If I'm winning when he calls you back, I want to speak to him."

Yugi stopped short, staring at him blankly for a moment before slowly looking at the phone in his hand. He had forgotten to lock it before he set it down next to him. His grandpa must have tapped the screen when he wasn't looking. "Grandpa," he muttered slowly, narrowing his eyes and staring at him, "when he calls back, _I'm_ going to be the _only_ one to talk to him."

"Not if you're not winning."

"Grandpa—"

"Wait, if you get to make that wager, I want to too!" Rebecca announced loudly next to him, making his head snap towards her with a shocked expression.

"Well, if you two are doing it, then so will I."

" _What_?" Yugi spat sharply, shaking his head and fighting off the urge to bare his teeth. "That is _not_ happening. That is _never_ going to happen—"

"Chicken shit," his grandpa taunted, making him stare at him furiously, blue-violet eyes narrowed into slits. "You're too chicken shit to let us talk to your boyfriend."

His stomach did a small somersault at the word, his mouth momentarily dry at the effect it had on him. Having someone else acknowledge their bond with such ease while he was still struggling to grow used to it made him feel sick for a split second.

"No, it's called _privacy_ , Grandpa," he sniped, bristling slightly as Rebecca reached for his phone. He caught her wrist and snatched the device away to pocket it immediately after. "I don't want you talking to him about playing doctor, damn it."

"Ha, I was just trying to save you a little bit of money," he scoffed, smirking and winking playfully. "And, hey, you're great at games—you won against Rebecca before. So what makes this any different? Odds are none of us will even be able to get ahead of you in the meantime."

Yugi wanted to curse at him but shook it off after a moment, sighing loudly and rolling his eyes as he turned to the board. "I'm not about to—"

"Come on, Yugi, liven up a little," Rebecca protested immediately, rolling her wide blue-green eyes at him playfully. "It'll be fun."

"No, I don't think Yami would appreciate it very much—"

"If Yami can't take a joke, then he shouldn't be dating you," Solomon cut in a little sharply, making his eyes stretch wide as he glanced at him. Vaguely he remembered that his grandpa and Yami had interacted only a handful of times. The first time he had brought him home for a month-long project and the other he knew of was when Duke Devlin's father was trying to buy the Kame Game Shop out from under them. Yami had been nice the first time and even offered a way out of being evicted the second time. But Yugi had a feeling that, like Rebecca, his grandpa was still a little frustrated with Yami's attitude before he had played Duke at Dungeon Dice Monsters in order to keep the shop under the Motou name. Weeks had been spent with him ignoring him and his general existence, even skipping school and having his cousins deliver his assignments to his house.

Yugi had gotten over it quickly but the other two seemed pretty inclined to remind him constantly that Yami had done that. He didn't need a reminder, because he was the one who had suffered through it so miserably, but apparently no one wanted to just forget and _forgive_.

"See, that kind of attitude _really_ doesn't make me want to make this bet with you—at all," he hissed quietly, glowering at the game pieces for a moment.

"Come on, Yugi, Yami won't even care," Rebecca snorted, grinning widely. "He'll probably think it's funny."

Yugi bit back a violent snap of "You don't even _know_ what he finds funny" in order to roll his eyes once more. Odds were, Yami probably thought that his calling twice in a row like that was a sign of something wrong. He would probably be a little anxious when he called up—especially since he hadn't answered the text in the first place. He sometimes tended to get a little antsy when Yugi didn't answer a text after he had called more than once. He jumped to the worst case scenarios and then calmed down again immediately when Yugi said he was okay. So, no, he really didn't want to have them all play with him before he got the phone to tell him that he had just called to check up on him.

"Okay, we'll take your silence as a yes," Solomon announced, making Yugi spin on him furiously. "Anyone who's ahead of Yugi before he calls him back gets to talk to Yami!"

"What? No, we are _not_ —"

"All right! Let's _do_ this!" Rebecca crowed loudly, glancing in between all of them and grinning as Yugi glowered at her defensively.

Yami called over an hour later, when the game was still getting fussed over and Yugi was trying to gain as much ground as he could in order to be put ahead. But he was failing miserably, weighed down suddenly with the idea that maybe Yami had forgotten or was deliberately avoiding calling him back because of his response at the museum. So when the phone rang he jumped a mile and banged his knee against the table, watching with a horrified look as he realized that his grandpa was in the lead.

"Oh my gods," he breathed quietly, shaking his head and trying to grab his phone before his grandpa could accept the call. He sobbed low in his throat and buried his face in his arms just as his grandpa murmured, "Hello" in a singsong voice.

For a moment Yugi couldn't tell if Yami had responded or not and then finally he heard him say, "Hello, Mr. Motou. How are you today?"

"No need to be so formal, my boy. Call me Solomon."

"I'd rather not."

Yugi snorted a small laugh and bit his lip in amusement. Of course Yami would say that of all things. He didn't bother asking for him because he probably knew he was nearby if his grandpa had the phone.

"Suit yourself then," he snickered, smirking widely at his grandson who squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head slowly. Yugi watched, stomach dropping with pure embarrassment, as Solomon put the phone on speaker and placed it on the table directly in front of himself. He was sorely tempted to lunge out and grab it but knew immediately that if he did, his grandpa would smack his hand aside and embarrass Yami far more than he already planned.

"I'm on speaker," Yami acknowledged slowly, drawing the words out and sounding a small bit amused. "Shall I assume that Rebecca and Mr. Hawkins and Yugi are there as well?"

"Yep."

The chuckle made Yugi's pants feel a little tight, his tongue flicking out to wet his lips as he stared at the screen with anticipation. Yami sounded a little tired, weariness coating the small laugh, but he was definitely wide-awake enough not to worry about the fact that he had an audience.

"Hi, Yami," Rebecca cooed, sounding overly enthusiastic as she nudged Yugi's ribs and snickered loudly.

"Hello, Rebecca."

"Oh yes, where are my manners? Hello, Yami," Arthur stated softly, smiling at Yugi sympathetically.

"Mr. Hawkins."

For a moment no one spoke and then Solomon gave him a completely stunned look. "And you aren't going to greet your boyfriend, Yugi?" he chided, shaking his head and clicking his tongue slightly. "How rude."

"Oh, so you're actually going to _let_ me say hello?" he scoffed. "I thought this was just you talking to him not the whole table."

"I never said that. I said that I wanted to have the phone so I could talk to him. And I am."

Yugi rolled his eyes. "Hey, Yami."

Yami stayed quiet for a moment, mumbling something to someone else and then cleared his throat. "Hey, Yugi."

"Who's that in the background? Is that Seto?" Yugi asked, snickering. "Tell him I said _hi_."

For a moment all of them listened to Yami muttering and then a new voice, clear and sharp, spat, "Fuck off, runt" while Yami burst out laughing.

"Well that definitely wasn't Seto," the smaller teen snickered.

"No, unfortunately dear Seto is only communicating in grunts right now and Bakura is all too happy to speak out of context," the red-eyed teen drawled and Yugi pictured him rolling his eyes. "And Malik is going to be in the restroom for…the next…hour and a half so that Seto won't ask him for any more favors."

" _Nice_."

"All right, so Yami, do you have any idea why I'm talking to you and not Yugi?"

He stayed quiet for a long moment and Yugi could almost hear the thoughts in his head as he tried to assess the situation without clues. "I'm guessing that you got to the phone before him," he stated slowly, testing the air. "Or perhaps Yugi left his phone in the other room and you ran across it. Either of those scenarios."

"Wrong on both accounts. Actually, I asked Yugi if I could speak to you and he said yes."

"Doesn't sound like him." Yugi could hear the suspicion starting to color his tone for a split second before he drew it back once more. "But hey, if he's being generous today, who am I to say that? Ra _knows_ a few people in this room with me could learn to utilize that trait."

"Ha, fuck off!" Bakura crowed loudly and when Yugi strained his hearing he thought he could catch Seto's grunt of annoyance in the background.

"Yami, I think you should probably get out of there and go somewhere _alone_. Grandpa isn't— _Ow_!" the small teen cried, glaring at his hand from where he had popped him upside the head and was holding a finger to his lips. "Hey, no, that's not fair. You didn't really expect me not to warn him, right?"

"Warn me?"

"Don't listen to him, he's being ridiculous," Solomon stated nonchalantly, shooting his grandson daggers while Yugi rolled his eyes. He hoped that Yami wasn't so foolish that he believed that at any rate.

"I actually _can't_ leave right now," Yami finally mumbled. "We're getting Mokuba's cast off."

"Oh, Mokuba is there too?" Yugi asked slowly, narrowing his eyes. He had to admit that he still wasn't completely over the fact that the eight-year-old was _taller_ than him.

"Yes, and he refuses to get it off unless I'm here…"

"What? Really? Why?"

"Because apparently he's trying to make me suffer by having me witness his cast come off since I beat him in a video game earlier and he's still not over it."

"Speaking of games," Solomon sang, cutting off something that Mokuba was saying in the background, to who he supposed was his older brother. "I wanted to know if you've ever played a game called _doctor_."

Yami remained silent for a moment. "Are you asking me if I've ever gone through the stage of playing doctor?" he finally asked. "Because if so, then no, I have not."

"What kind of…? Did you _have_ a childhood?" Rebecca scoffed, making Yugi's head snap around to stare at her as Arthur snorted in laughter and then shook his head. Yami remained silent for a long minute and Yugi felt his gut wrench violently, waiting for him to either hang up or speak. In his place, he would hang up in a heartbeat at the memories that must have been playing behind his eyes, but Yami was a lot more stubborn when it came to something like this. And he was curious, which meant odds were he was going to stick it out if _only_ because he thought it would sate some of his bewilderment.

"Sorry to disappoint, Rebecca, but I grew up with my legs closed."

Yugi burst out laughing, listening to Bakura cackling and Mokuba's surprised squeak while Seto started snickering. He thought he heard a nurse laughing as well, because the sound was far too feminine to be any of Yami's family unless it was his one of his aunts. Yugi blinked curiously at the thought; he'd never met any of Yami's family outside of his cousins and the idea wasn't surprising but if they were in the same room as Yami at the moment, he wondered what they thought of his relationship with him.

"Oh my god," Solomon snorted, laughing and shaking his head as the blonde blushed furiously.

"Well at least I had someone willing to play with me!" she spat back. "Namely _your_ boyfriend."

Yugi stopped short, blinking and then growing mortified, body frozen in place. By the gods, he'd forgotten about that. He had never really thought of anything like that before and now his face burned as he remembered. Rebecca had been curious about what a penis looked like and he what a vagina was. He'd been satisfied with one peek and never looked again but now he couldn't help but want to duck his head and hide. Solomon and Arthur hadn't known that before this moment and now he would never live it down.

"Yes, well, look at what that got you. You scarred him for life and now he's all about screwing guys," Yami drawled in response, not the least bit affected by the statement.

"I love this kid," Solomon declared, laughing harder. "This boy is great!"

"That's why he's my boyfriend," Yugi muttered, crossing his arms and putting his chin on them, staring at the phone for a moment. He could hear Seto and Mokuba now, speaking quietly but just loud enough that he caught the sound of their voices but not their words. Bakura was snickering and whoever the woman was, she was giggling. "Are we on speaker?"

"No, you're not on speaker."

"Why not? Put us on speaker," his grandpa laughed.

"I don't think that's a good idea. Besides, my cousins are cranky little shits and whatever you have to say probably isn't meant for an eight-year-old's ears."

"Oh please," Seto scoffed just loudly enough for them to hear, "he's probably heard worse than anything your boyfriend has in mind. Damn nurses gossip far too much."

"See that? Even Seto says it's okay to put us on speaker."

" _Kaiba_ ," he spat angrily. "I am _Kaiba_ to you, old man."

"Enough," Yami snapped at the brunet. "Get your head out of your ass for a moment."

"Ooh, tensions are riding high," Rebecca sang loudly next to him.

"I don't remember giving that old geezer permission to call me by my first name," the brunet snarled.

"I don't remember giving you permission to be a little bitch today but hey, guess that's what's happening anyways, isn't it?" Yami spat. "Get over yourself. I don't care if the damn hospital is too packed for them to get to Mokuba's leg just yet. I said I would be here as long as you weren't so bitchy. And here you are—being exactly _that_. Either knock it off or you're going to end up rescheduling his cast being removed, got it, cousin?"

"This has to be one the _best_ days of my fucking _life_!" Bakura howled. "Seto just got put in his place, Mokuba is speechless, and Yami is showing his balls for once! This is _great_!"

Yami chuckled and shoved him away, rolling his eyes and glancing at his younger cousin who looked slightly mystified by his brother's tense silence but smiled regardless. "So, what was it that you wanted to speak to me about, Mr. Motou?"

Yugi smirked slightly, knowing immediately that Yami had just won some points with him, the respect a small amount but definitely clear in his eyes.

"Ah, yes. So you've never played doctor?"

"I have not."

"Aw, but you've got the hands for it, my boy."

Yugi's eyes nearly popped out of his head and he was sorely tempted to try to make him stop talking but he knew if he interfered, he would end up with _worse_ as far as this conversation went.

Yami stayed silent for a moment. "Yes, well, I've still never played the game."

"You would be _perfect_ for it!"

Yugi was acutely aware that Yami was catching on to what his grandpa was saying, trying to find some kind of way to get a step ahead of him. It didn't take a genius to know that Yami was calculating his next statement, avoiding asking what the game entitled.

"Would you like to know what the game is?"

"…I would assume it's the same as the game played growing up."

"Wrong," Solomon sang, laughing and looking towards Yugi who curled his lip back slightly and fought off the urge to growl in frustration. "Let me explain the game _doctor_ to you."

Yami was silent for a moment, casting a glance at Bakura as he leaned forward to hear better and his mother beside him tilted her head. Seto was sulking silently in his corner but Mokuba was squirming from where he sat in his lap, leaning forward drastically to hear what the elderly Motou had to say next.

"Very well."

"So, doctor is a little game that I think you and Yugi might enjoy. You have the hands for it, Yugi is _all_ for it—so much in fact that I'm a little shocked he hasn't taught you how to play yet."

Yugi cringed, wondering vaguely if the red-eyed male was taking that statement the wrong way. But when he glanced at his grandpa, he knew the other was well aware of how he had made that statement sound. In all actuality, it seemed as if he had every idea of how many buttons he was pushing and which ones he was going to play with first. Yugi felt a small bit of ice creep down his spine at the thought, realizing belatedly that his grandpa was about to get a small taste of Yami's personality. He hoped horribly that Yami only gave him just enough for satisfaction but didn't give him as much as his curiosity was trying for.

"Yes, well, games get relatively distracting after a while."

"Ah, so you're one of those people. Can't take a game without trying to win."

"I'm used to winning, but no, I don't suppose there's a way of winning in the bedroom. It all ends up the same way."

"All the more reason to spice it up a little."

Yami cast a small glance at Bakura's pregnant mother and then squeezed his eyes shut, dread starting to hollow out his stomach. He wished the doctor would get his ass in there quickly so that he didn't have to have this conversation in front of her of all people. By Ra, it was hard enough looking her in the eyes sometimes. Ever since he had shown up at Bakura's house, shaking and too scared out of his mind to even speak about Yugi, he had been trying his hardest not to see the sympathy or pity that he knew lingered there.

"I'm sure Yugi would have mentioned it by now if he wanted to play it."

"Ah, but you see, Yugi tends to be passive most of the time. He won't _tell_ you what he wants. Besides, you've both screwed around enough to know what he wants and doesn't want, right?"

Yugi bit his tongue to keep from snapping that he didn't want to play games with Yami, that it was more fun trying to figure out what the other's mood was when he was there to witness it. Besides, games in the bedroom always seemed like something that you needed when you fell into some kind of miserable pattern and had nothing else to do. So far, he was pretty content and if he knew Yami as well as he really hoped he did, then the other was just as happy with it.

"Passive? I'm starting to suspect you don't know your grandson very well."

Rebecca was in tears next to him and Yugi howled, covering his face where his cheeks burned against his palms. At this rate, he might just be tempted to let his grandpa talk to him more often.

"Regardless, explain the game to me."

"Ask one of your cousins if they know what doctor is."

Yami considered it for a moment and then shrugged and finally turned to Seto. "What the hell is the game doctor?"

The brunet stared at him for a long minute and then threw his head back, roaring with laughter while Bakura gawked and then covered his mouth to hide some of his guffaws. Mokuba looked up, mumbling, "You don't know what _doctor_ is?"

"Oh dear, dear Atem," his aunt whispered, shaking her head and giggling.

Yami tilted his head towards her but didn't look, his stomach twisting anxiously for a moment before Bakura leaned forward and started whispering in his ear. "It's role playing. The girl normally goes in for 'an inspection' where the guy gets to check to see if her pussy is 'up to standards'. Other times the guy goes in for the inspection and she dresses up as naughty little nurse. Depending on the people, there _may_ or may _not_ be a thermometer involved."

His cheeks burned as he opened and closed his mouth and his cousin snickered in delight at the bright blush. It was hard to get the golden-bronze-skinned red-eyed teen to actually blush, especially to the point that it was so bright and visible. And Yami was so mortified that he hadn't ducked his head yet.

"Then, there may also be a needle. Sometimes—rarely—there's a stethoscope. If you're _lucky_ , however, there are gloves involved." He paused, glancing at Seto who was still laughing and watching them with pure humor in his eyes. "Normally for the girl you put the thermometer in her pussy and then fuck her a little with it or have her do it. _Then_ with the guy, the stethoscope is _great_. They listen to the blood in your erection and the sensation is awesome. The needle is something for you to bite on while she puts the thermometer up your ass to look for your prostate. The gloves should be pretty self-explanatory but either way, I'll tell you simply that they're for deep, deep, _deep_ exploration. And that is how you play doctor, dear cousin."

Yami stared at the wall blankly, trying to drown out the words and failing miserably. "Oh…"

Solomon, Arthur and Rebecca burst out laughing while Yugi sighed softly and shook his head. He knew he couldn't actually get angry with them since they didn't _know_ how sheltered Yami's childhood had been, but it still made him want to yell at them to stop. He settled back some in his seat to resist grabbing the phone, and ran a finger over the table.

"You've certainly got the long fingers to play with," his grandpa crowed, laughing harder. "And with the way you two go at it like bunnies, I'm sure it wouldn't be too much of a challenge for you."

"All right, all right," Yugi snapped when he could hear Yami cursing under his breath. He snatched the phone immediately and got to his feet. "I'll be upstairs."

All three of them nodded though they didn't stop laughing for even a second and Yugi turned the speaker off immediately. He closed the door behind him, locking it, and then headed for the bed.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled, "I didn't really…I mean…We started playing Monopoly and the deal was that the person winning got to answer the phone and I was…actually losing pretty sorely. So I'm guessing that might be why you were put on speaker…well besides Grandpa just wanting to mess with you a little bit."

Yami stayed silent, breathing out something like a weak "Kill me" that he barely caught around his cousins' laughter.

"Oh my gods." He pulled at his hair for a moment, sighing loudly and shaking his head as his stomach twisted sloppily. "I'm so sorry, koi. I…oh gods, I'm sorry."

"Give Yami a minute, shrimp," Bakura said a few seconds later when Yami made a small grunting noise. "I think he's still in shock."

Yugi sighed and shook his head, rubbing his eyes and feeling sick to his stomach again. Gods, he should have just grabbed it when he had the chance and made a run for it. His grandpa would have found it hilarious to humiliate him later in public in retaliation but it would have been easier to deal with that this. He could almost imagine the hurt in Yami's eyes at the unconscious reminder of his sexual naivety, the same flickers he had seen the third time they had had sex.

"Are we ready to get his cast off yet?" someone else asked loudly.

"About time," Bakura spat, rolling his eyes. "You think you could have moved a little slower?"

"Well, I'm sorry that our staff had its hands tied with the mass amount of shooting victims."

"Yes, well, liberation of a child's leg comes first. You could have scarred him for life if you hadn't gotten here," the silver-haired teen scoffed, not the least bit thrown off by his sarcasm. "He might have started thinking that his leg was going to be stuck like that forever and he'd never be able to walk without feeling like a prisoner."

"Morbid much?" Yami snorted, rolling his eyes before shaking his head.

"Yami?"

"Can you call back tomorrow, Yugi? I…kind of promised to take care of Mokuba for the rest of the day."

Yugi groaned and pulled at his hair harder. "Yeah, okay. Sure, I'll call back tomorrow. W-wait, when? I—you have school tomorrow, remember?"

"Oh, right…Shit. I don't…I could call you? Or text. I'll just text."

"But…" He fell silent for a moment, listening to some kind of medical instrument being used, to Mokuba's small gasp and Seto's snort of laughter. He really didn't want to say the same as he had before when he had been forced to wait it out for Yami to deal with some stuff on his own, that he needed his voice. "Yeah, okay."

"I'll try calling first. Leave a voicemail or something…" Yami made a small gagging noise and Bakura started laughing next to him. "Okay?"

"Yeah…that's fine."

"Good."

"Bye—love you."

"Bye…Love you too— _Ra, what the fuck is that_?"

 **Also, really quickly, I was writing the first few chapters when I was still posting _Simple_. My style HAS changed somewhat since then, so while these might be a little confusing, that would be the style from the prequel. The later chapters are a lot clearer.**


	3. Nightmares

**Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Yu-Gi-Oh**

 **Update Schedule: I'm going to try for every Wednesday (wish me luck)**

 **Story Warning: Cursing will go from mild to excessive at times, depending on the character speaking and the situation they're in (I don't think they'll curse nearly as much as they did in _Simple_ though)**

 **Note: Yugi is in California, Yami is still in Domino. The time difference is pretty big. I had to struggle with it several times to keep it from getting out of hand for me. If I'm inconsistent at some point, that's why. I have never been all that great with time zones so, yeah, I'm just going to throw that out there.**

Chapter III: Nightmares

"Yami!"

He stopped short, eyes wide as he glanced over his shoulder. Ever since he and Yugi had been exposed having sex, most of the school had more or less only ever interacted with him in an attempt to frustrate him violently. Guys had followed him into the bathrooms and tried to get in his pants. Girls had generally just badmouthed him, though one or two had thrown condoms at him and told him to "keep the AIDS to himself". Only a couple of his friends had stayed and Yami still couldn't figure out why the "social hierarchy" even mattered in the first place.

"Hi Mai," he commented, giving her a small smile and glancing around quickly; no one seemed to be around so he guessed it was safe for her to talk to him. Not that she couldn't handle anyone who questioned her in the first place. She was the head cheerleader, practically the most popular girl in school, and she had chewed off so many guys' heads when they had messed with him that he didn't think anyone was stupid enough to question her anymore.

"Do you have a minute?"

He blinked and smiled at her warmly. "I always have a minute for you," he stated easily, putting his hands in his pockets and relaxing a little as she got closer.

She gave him a warm smile in return and then dug through her backpack for a binder, flipping it open and pulling a sheet of paper out. "I'm supposed to do a video report for drama," she explained, flipping it over and then back again before handing it to him for inspection. "I was _kind_ of hoping I could do it on…well, you know…what happened before."

Yami stared blankly at the paper for a moment, cringing. He wasn't in a hurry to have to relive the events of the last few months. He'd been exposed as homosexual, disowned by his parents, had been forced to suffer through abuse at school, and had videos of himself and Yugi fucking leaked all over the internet. He'd had his name dragged through the dirt as Atem Sennen, the boy who looked like the ancient Pharaoh Atem who he was named after. And he'd been kidnapped and forced to kill in order to escape an abandoned warehouse at an abandoned dock. He was trying hard to put that all behind him, even though his nights seemed to be stalked by some other bloody death that he had no real knowledge of.

If Atem was right, then it was a sign of things to come. And his statement merely reinforced the omen the cards he had read his fate on had shown him.

"What…do you mean exactly?" he finally asked, narrowing his eyes as he took in more of the sheet in his hands. The subject was human emotions and he couldn't see how much he could do with that. It wasn't a secret that he fostered his wounded pride behind a rather stoic poker face or that he only let someone see what he wanted, that he dictated every single bit of emotion that one witnessed him display. So why would she want to have him as the subject?

"Well, there's the whole…homosexual thing," she offered quietly, frowning as she took in his troubled expression. His teeth were beginning to work on his bottom lip, a small bead of blood forming in the corner. "I mean, it was a massive struggle for you, wasn't it? Or you know…deciding that Yugi was the one for you."

He fought back a flinch, unsure of what to say to that. Mai didn't have any bitterness in her tone whatsoever, but he knew for a fact that she was still hurting a little. The blonde had fallen in love with him at some point in their friendship, but Yami had never been even slightly inclined towards more than friends. When he had decided to experiment and see if he really was gay, he had gone to her for help. He was still a little ashamed to admit he had needed Viagra and had been a little more focused mentally on Yugi than he had her. The forelock on her forehead had distracted him into thinking of the smaller boy and even some of her demeanor had reminded him of him. But she hadn't been upset with him when they had fumbled through his little discovery together, nor had she been when he had fallen for the school's "bad boy".

She had handled his rejection with grace, though he thought maybe there wasn't much choice regardless. And, if he remembered right, she had spoken to Yugi at some point or other while he was still avoiding him. From what Yugi had told him, the blonde standing before him had given him some much needed strength in order to make it through the week.

"I don't…um…"

"Yami, it's fine if you don't want to do it. I just thought of you first and I figured I would ask," she laughed, bumping hips with him and making him blink as he turned to her; when had she moved exactly? "Besides, if not you, I can do something on Ryou—I mean, he did move here from Britain just for medical study. That takes a hell of a lot of commitment. Or Marik since I heard that he and his sister actually ran away from Egypt because of his father being abusive."

Yami blinked slowly and then nodded faintly, glancing at the paper again. Vaguely he remembered Bakura saying something about Ryou having moved from Britain and Marik's sister Ishizu running away with him to Domino.

"I…hmm…Give me a couple of days to think about it?"

"Sure," she agreed immediately. "No rush. I was just making a list of people anyways. It's going to be a few months before we have to turn it in anyways. She just wanted to make sure that we were prepared for it as our end of the year project."

Yami nodded again. "That's different. Normally they only hand it out the month before."

"She doesn't want us freaking out between it and midterms."

"Ah, I see."

"Yep. She's awesome like that." She paused. "So, how's Yugi?"

He stayed quiet for a moment before handing the sheet back to her and immediately wishing he hadn't because he could feel his fingers shaking slightly now. He stuffed his hands into his pockets immediately, not wanting her to see, and was relieved to find that her eyes had remained on his the entire time.

"He's good. He's bored of America though," he commented with a small grin. "Says the food is parasitic and just begs him to get fat."

She snickered, shaking her head. "Yugi? Fat? Ha, he's too skinny as it is…" She fell silent, all laughter leaving her face as she blinked. "Is he…you know…anorexic or something?"

Yami stared at her for a moment and then burst out laughing. He had seen that boy eat a whole pizza by himself at one point. He had watched him eat three separate breakfasts at another—pancakes, eggs and grits, and cereal. He looked like he ate hardly anything but in all actuality, he had a metabolism that was far too fast for him to gain weight. "No, he's not anorexic," he chuckled, grinning widely. "I think he just…has trouble gaining weight, I guess?"

She studied him suspiciously for a moment and then seemed to relax when she saw that he wasn't lying. "Oh, okay, good. Because I remember he was a mess last time I saw him but even before that he's always been super skinny. I doubt he even weighs at one hundred pounds."

Yami shook his head. "Ninety-two actually. But I'm only fourteen pounds more than him. I don't know, he just doesn't gain weight."

"Do _you_? I'm pretty sure you've been the same size both years I've known you."

"Not really. I have a fast metabolism. And besides that, I just…my family is naturally skinny, I guess. And short. So I guess I got both of those genes. I think I've only gained twelve pounds in the last five years?"

She sputtered and then looked him up and down twice before narrowing her eyes and crossing her arms. "No, really, Yami. Do you exercise or something? Because I need to see that plan you have if it keeps you _that_ fit."

"Seriously, Mai, I don't—"

"Mai!"

Both of them stopped short and glanced down the hall, Yami's spine growing rigid and his entire temperament rising into a violent bristle. Joey Wheeler, one of Yugi's former best friends who always called him by the smaller boy's name or "Yummy" or "Yams". The blond had a thing for the girl next to him, completely infatuated and not the least bit discreet about it. The gleam in his brown eyes said he wasn't happy to see him near her and he knew for a fact that if he opened his mouth, Mai would be the one to snap at him instead.

"Joey," she stated, crossing her arms and raising a brow, waiting.

He glanced between them minutely and then turned his sole attention to her. "What are you doing after school?"

Yami glanced over his shoulder, finding no one around, and wondered vaguely where everyone was. He guessed it might have been because he had left the house far earlier than he had originally planned, unable to rest with the brutal nightmares lingering behind his eyelids. Mai was always around earlier, doing any last minute work or helping with the yearbook or anything else that she felt needed attention.

"I don't know yet," she replied, shrugging and casting a small glance at the red-eyed teen. He looked ready to turn and wander off at any second and while she would let him go, she kind of hoped he wouldn't, if only because she didn't want him to feel intimidated by Joey.

"Well, there's that new horror movie that came out yesterday and I heard from Vivian that you liked horror movies…"

Yami drowned out the awkward attempt to ask her out, pulling his phone from his pocket and starting to text Yugi. _I just got to school, I'll text you when I get out_.

"Yami?"

He lifted his head, turning to them with a confused look as both of them stared at him expectantly. "What?"

Mai grinned and Joey rolled his eyes before shaking his head slightly and watching him with arched brow. "I asked if you wanted to come with us," she laughed, nudging his shoulder and making him blink in pure confusion. "To see the movie…?"

Yami blinked once slowly and then shook his head slowly, watching Joey slowly narrow his eyes. "I'm not really one for movies—horror or…otherwise," he admitted quietly. "I tend to get…bored easily. Movies don't really ever keep my attention."

"Oh."

He nodded a little. "But, hey, you two go ahead and then tell me how it was later?"

"If you don't watch movies why would you want to know how it was?" the blond asked after a moment, a small bit of confusion and hostility bleeding into his tone and making Yami bristle once more.

"And then you wonder why I won't date you," Mai sighed, shaking her head and pinching the bridge of her nose while Yami stared at her with wide eyes and Joey flinched.

"I only said that because it might be fun for a movie night if I ever get bored enough for one," he mumbled, still looking at Mai with wide eyes. She ignored him, sighing softly as his eyes flickered towards Joey where the taller boy looked dismayed for a moment. "Besides, my lit teacher is asking us to do movie reviews next week and why not get an opinion from someone else?"

"Isn't that cheating?" Joey asked incredulously, scrunching his face up and staring at him with his eyes narrowed. "I thought you didn't cheat."

"It's not technically cheating. It's…working around something that I know would screw up my assignment otherwise." He paused. "Besides, I think she would prefer I do it this way or she's not going to have one at all."

He eyed him, almost as if sizing him up for a snack for a split second, and then turned away immediately. Yami glanced to Mai to find her rolling her eyes, and then looked at his phone with wide eyes as it went off with a text.

 _Okay. We'll figure out when we can talk again afterwards_.

He blinked and then smiled faintly, a ghost of the curve of his lips that normally appeared on his face when he got anything from the other boy. _What are you doing awake_?

"Hey, uh…what happened to Yugi anyways? The shop isn't open…"

Both Mai and Yami stopped short to stare at him curiously before swapping looks and then turning away.

"He's in America with the Hawkins."

"Ha, Rebecca's probably driving him crazy."

The red-eyed teen looked at him, blinking slowly twice and then raising his head a little more. The blond was obviously uncomfortable, fidgeting with soft shifts of his weight, looking unsure of himself as he glanced between them. Yami took a second to remember that the other boy was somewhat homophobic—or extremely, according to Yugi. He himself had seen him pick on a couple of gay guys before, even once on a couple of girls, but he'd never really thought about it before. He and Joey operated on different levels, with him and Yugi officially on the bottom while he, Ushio, Tristan and Tea rested at the top.

Yami couldn't remember Yugi really missing any of them but maybe he had failed to notice that in his own mayhem. But he felt like he would have noticed it all the same, just because he tended to care far more for the other boy than he did himself. He always had, even if it was mostly unconscious and he tried to make himself seem just as important, and he doubted that it would change anytime soon.

In the chaos that had unfolded while he and Yugi had been exposed, aided by Tea and Joey helping to send a photo of them kissing around on their phones to everyone in the school, Yami couldn't remember Yugi particularly sad at any rate. He didn't remember him depressed because they had turned their backs on him for his choice of fuck buddy, not even with Tea. And he remembered he had been as close to in love with her as he could have possibly been.

"Most likely," he agreed after a moment. "She tends to do that."

"Has she done that thing in front of you? The one where she'll sit really close to him and then press her shoe into his crotch and rub?"

Yami blinked and frowned for a split second. "No. I haven't seen that."

"It's great. Yugi's face is always priceless."

His voice was starting to get a little high, unnerved, trying hard not to let any antagonism seep into his tone. Yami blinked at him, nodded once, and then turned back to his phone as the text came in.

 _It's only four in the afternoon here, remember_?

Right…he'd forgotten that. His lips twisted into an unhappy frown. When he got out of school at four, it would be midnight over there. Yugi would stay up, he supposed, but at the same time he didn't want him to do that. His days had been packed so far with visits to museums and general family-friend events and he didn't want to cut into that time, especially if Yugi needed to sleep.

He chewed his cheek and texted back, _I forgot_.

"So, uh…how is he doing?"

Mai stared at him curiously, glancing at Yami who looked at him as if he had lost his mind briefly before blinking. She couldn't help but feel a little surprised by the fact that he was honestly speaking to him so civilly. In all actuality, she had expected him to leave while he still had the chance.

"He's doing well, I suppose. The time difference is just kind of…strenuous I guess."

"Do you always talk like that?"

Yami blinked wide eyes and Mai gawked at him before spitting, "Wow, rude much, Joseph?"

The blond cringed, glancing at his crush and frowning while Yami struggled for an answer for a second. His phone buzzed in his hand and he almost dropped it for a split second before mumbling, "I was raised to speak like this…"

Granted he relaxed a lot more when he spoke to others he liked and especially Yugi, but he had definitely been raised to speak this way. The fact that someone was actually calling him out on it made him feel slightly sick with a reminder of just how wrong his childhood actually had been.

"I—"

"Doesn't matter," he interrupted immediately, holding his hands up and then turning to his phone.

 _Dork_. _I thought for sure you would be on top of the time difference._

 _Ha, as if. I get my ass kicked by it far too often_.

He pocketed the slim white device, glancing around as the sound of a bus screeching to a stop hit his ears. He was gone before Joey or Mai even turned their heads back in his direction.

* * *

Yugi was losing his mind as the minutes ticked by. He was tired from a night of tossing and turning and eventually being kicked out of the bed to sleep on the couch. He hadn't gotten more than a scattered hour's worth of rest. He wasn't even sure what had made him so anxious in the first place at this point. He should have known that Yami wouldn't be offended by his grandpa's jokes, though he hated the fact that he had even hinted at his naivety. Yami had hung up because he had to baby sit Mokuba—he had to ask about that because he was pretty sure the red-eyed teen would end up gagging at some point and it would be _glorious_ —not because he was angry or hurt.

But it was half past midnight and his stomach was doing somersaults and his heart was starting to hurt a little. Rebecca was eating a sundae at her desk, watching him around spoonfuls of ice cream, her expression slightly cynical and growing more so as the seconds passed.

He was five minutes away from calling him himself when his phone went off and the blonde got to her feet to wander back downstairs to get rid of her bowl.

"Yami!"

He flinched at how desperate and breathless he sounded.

"Not quite, shrimp," Bakura snorted mockingly before he paused momentarily. "Actually, I came over to check on him because Ryou said he was coughing at school all day. I gave him some medicine and it knocked him out but he _insisted_ that I call you…He made me pledge on my unborn sibling's life so…I didn't have a choice in the matter this time."

Yugi laughed a little, a shaky noise that he tried to ignore when the silver-haired teen mimicked him snidely. "Is he okay? I mean, what did they say about his cough?"

"Something about him not sleeping properly. He hasn't been sleeping well for weeks now." Bakura stayed quiet for a moment and Yugi could tell he was debating whether to keep talking or just hang up. "He said it started before you left…?"

He scrambled to remember, frowning as nothing came immediately. "I think it started a little before I told him I was coming here," he mumbled. "So about three weeks? He said he hadn't been able to sleep one night and then he looked…pretty shaken up a couple of times. But he seemed okay when I left so I didn't really think about it…"

He grunted. "Well, I'm going home because fuck me if _I_ 'm not tired from having to put up with his bullshit at the hospital." He hung up and Yugi rolled his eyes as he listened to the dial tone where he had been about to thank him.

"That was fast," Rebecca commented. "Not even a full five minutes."

"That was Bakura. Yami actually fell asleep already."

"Well that's rude."

"No, he had to go to the hospital because he was coughing all day at school. They gave him some medication…knocked him out." He paused, wondering vaguely at what Bakura meant by Yami's bullshit. Had he fought with them or something? He remembered Ryou telling him about how Yami had gone off on two doctors just recently because he had deemed them "unworthy" of handling him. He had spent over ten minutes laughing about it but now he worried that maybe that wasn't entirely a joke as he had expected. He knew Yami was picky, but he hadn't thought he would say someone was unworthy of helping him out when he needed it.

Then again, Yugi was growing to realize that help had to be offered or forced on him because he refused to ask. The few times he had ever asked him to help him with the pot of water that he needed to boil, he had looked like he was expecting him to lash out at any moment. Of course he recognized that from what he knew of Yami's childhood, how he was raised to be self-reliant or he was considered weak and had to be punished. Yugi would never admit it, but those small glances where he would have to lower his eyes to ask him for help made him want to vomit.

"Oh. Is he okay then?"

"Yeah, he hasn't been sleeping well, though, I guess."

Yugi felt his stomach twist. Maybe he could talk to Yami about that when he got to school…

* * *

Darkness lurked around each wall of the extravagant mansion and he could almost taste the blood that lingered the air, the scent making his head spin. Yami recognized the walls despite the splatter of red that lingered against its white paint. He knew the sensation of threat that rested beneath his skin, tiring his muscles without effort as he glanced around and wondered if he could find his way out this time. The dreams had at first been easier to navigate because it had been anything but lucid but it had grown steadily more controlled to the point that he was conscious during them. He knew of every little thing that had grown different as opposed to the way they had formerly been there in his subconscious but he had no idea how to recognize them. He could feel it but he had no way to address them. Now, as they had been for a while, they were pronounced and his eyes were always on them, the images burning their way into his tired mind. The sense of urgency had faded to be replaced with resignation, knowing that he had no way of turning away and had to walk forward, towards that room. He had no desire to do so, however, and he tried mentally to fight off the urge to walk forward, but as always his legs moved without his direction.

His eyes trailed along the plush carpet, taking in the steady show of drops of blood, the trail of bright red against dusty gray. He blinked slowly, raising his head and glancing towards the door. As always, he hesitated, fingers lingering on a knob that was smeared with dark blood that shown almost black in the low light, and then the door opened slowly before him.

Yami took in the sight without pain or nerves, too tired to care as his feet carried him further inside. His eyes flickered around momentarily and the lamp burst with sudden light, illuminating the horrid scene he had grown used to now. His parents were lying in the bed, the pillows drenched in blood, the walls taking on specks of bright red. An ax was rested forcefully in the sheets between them, nearly cutting open their faces more brutally than they already were.

His mother's brown eyes were glazed over, her hair thick and clumped, her skull split open with the force of a blow. One side of her face had been chopped to pieces, her temple ripped open, and her jaw was broken, unhinged. His father looked as if the attacker had attempted mimicking the carnage done to his wife but had gotten sloppy results. His left eye was busted open and the scar looked like it would have been a nice little scar if he had survived. His left side had taken more of a beating than the right but there was more to his chest and torso as well, and Yami cared for none of it.

However, despite the consciousness that lingered in this dream, he had no power to look away and so he was stuck looking at the crimson-stained white sheets. It was only when he had taken in the full extent of the wounds that he looked down, watching the drips of bright red that fell to the floor and seemed to steadily creep towards him. Yami merely stared, blinking slowly and wishing to wake up as he always did. The sight of his parents' faces made up his sight once more when he lifted his head to glance at them. The sight would have been gut-wrenching and brought on a gagging sensation, but after so many times seeing it the most it did was make him want to turn away again.

He only really knew that this dream was taking a little longer than it would have before and for once he found that he could turn his head. However what he had wanted to see—an exit or maybe something to help him find his way to consciousness—was nowhere in sight. His eyes widened as he took in the image painted on the wall and his legs shook as he tried to back up, stumbling and collapsing.

Yami woke from the violence of the blood-painted walls to the sound of his phone going off. The soft ringtone made his stomach flare with pain, head throbbing as he breathed roughly once. His hands shook and his heart clenched as a tremor passed through him. He knew without thought that he couldn't possibly answer Yugi's call in this state.

The dream lingered behind his eyes, screaming for his attention as he tried to gather some semblance of calm. That helpless feeling of knowing it was merely another nightmare but being unable to wake burned inside him even as he took in the familiar walls of his room.

He waited a few long minutes, watching as his hands shook violently, and listened to the ringtone grow louder as Yugi called back immediately. He couldn't force away the need to vomit but he already knew nothing would come up. Yami squeezed his eyes shut, forcing himself to ignore the bloodied walls and destroyed headboard, and thanked Ra that Yugi had called. If he hadn't, he knew he would probably still be asleep and panicked without a way out.

He waited over twenty minutes, studying his hands until they were steady again, and then finally reached for the phone. Yugi had stopped calling long before but he knew he was waiting for him. The phone felt too cold and his stomach lurched but it did nothing to make him hesitate. Yugi's phone rang in his ear as he glanced at the clock and swallowed hard. It was already an hour past time he should have left for school; the thought made him quake violently for a split second. He'd been asleep since he had gotten home an hour after he had gone to the hospital. He'd been asleep…through the entire night. But he only remembered the nightmare that he'd been caught in before Yugi had called.

"You're okay?"

He opened and closed his mouth, voice coming out even but holding a quietness that made his skin tingle. "Yeah, I guess I just slept harder than I thought," he muttered, blinking slowly and frowning as he bit his lip.

"I'll say. I've been trying your cell for an hour now. I almost called Kaiba Corp to have your cousin check on you."

 _An hour_?

Yami shivered and shook his head after a long moment, reaching up to run his hand through his hair. "Sorry, little one," he mumbled, pursing his lips. "I guess the medication knocked me out more than I originally thought…"

"How are your lungs?"

He hesitated, confused. "My lungs?"

"Yeah, Bakura told me that Ryou took you to the hospital because you were coughing all day."

Yami blinked, scowling momentarily. He honestly could not remember. The most he recalled was that awkward attempt at conversation with Joey and Mai. Beyond that was a low cloud of grogginess that fogged his mind and gave way to nothing but the one thing he refused to truly acknowledge.

"Right," he mumbled, shaking his head slowly and narrowing his eyes. "I forgot about that. But, yeah, my lungs feel okay for the moment. A little strained, I guess."

"Okay, good," Yugi sighed in relief and Yami imagined he had to have woken up before the others at the Hawkins house. He glanced at the clock, eyes wide as he took in the time with an impulsive noise of discontent. He had overslept by an hour; that seemed so terribly out of place to him. Maybe he could make it to his second period without too much trouble… "What's wrong?"

"Hmm? Oh, nothing. I guess I just slept through my alarm…" He fell silent after a long minute, narrowing his eyes and tilting his head. He felt miserable, his entire body exhausted and weighted sluggishly. He could count the hours he'd been asleep but he was still stunningly lacking in the amount that it he had been useful.

He felt a small twitch of self-disgust passing through him now at his complaints no matter how silent they were to Yugi. He hated it when he complained, possibly another reason for his silence whenever he messed up his shoulder or his side. Ryou and Bakura had had to work hard to even get the information out of him, not that they hadn't repaid him with similar efforts. Ryou had gone off multiple times in pure frustration, made worse when he had ignored his direction in favor of getting a popsicle and later threatening to stab his eyes out if he didn't shut up. Bakura had bitched, more about how he tended to have a habit of fucking himself up than anything else. Malik had grown so used to them saying he had torn his stitches or stupidly gotten one or the other infected that now he assumed he needed help, ignored it when he lashed out, and still normally just shot him wry grins upon seeing him. Seto had, surprisingly yet unsurprisingly all the same, actually listened to him when he said he wasn't allowed over unless it involved Mokuba.

"Oh…how late are you then?"

Yami had a split second where his tired mind scrambled for some way to make sense of his statement, anything at all. But the moment his thoughts slowed enough for him to think and focus on what he had come up with, he barely suppressed the urge to groan and bury his face in the comforter. His first and only thought had been a lovely, _Is he talking about me having a period_?

"An hour," he finally muttered, shaking his head at himself. "I missed my alarm by an hour."

" _Ha_! I called _right_ when your alarm would have gone off then."

Yami blinked slowly and looked down at his nails for a moment, biting his lip before smiling faintly. Of course Yugi would be more excited about that than anything else. "Maybe I should just have _you_ as my alarm."

" _Way_ too much work," the smaller teen scoffed playfully, though a tone of seriousness underlined his words. The taller teen had the idea that he meant more that the stress had gotten to him rather than the idea that calling him to make sure he woke up was taxing to him.

"I'm sorry," he finally said, biting his thumbnail and looking at the comforter with narrowed eyes. "I didn't mean to scare you."

The small boy gave him something of a dismissive grunt of a response, the noise seemingly echoing in the back of Yami's mind for a long minute. He closed his eyes momentarily, mind burning with exhaustion.

"Are you actually going to school then or no?"

Yami hesitated for a moment, because he had assumed that Yugi might say that he had not worried him. Or that he might bring in more of the subject of his health. But it occurred to him that the other boy was still uncomfortable. He would not want to do it, as he was still unused to it all. And there was no faulting him for such a thing…

He shook his head slightly. "Probably not."

"Are you going to go back to sleep then?"

Yami bit back the bark of a bitter laugh that was climbing up the back of his throat. "No, I think I'll get up for a little while, maybe wander around," he said after a moment, reaching up to absently rub at his neck. The thick silver chain holding his Puzzle was warm and burning his skin subtly, as if it still harbored the heart of the intense fear of his dream. He closed his eyes tightly, shaking his head once. "What are you guys up to?"

"Well…for once it's _not_ a museum," Yugi snorted with a wide grin making his voice light. " _Apparently_ Grandpa decided the _zoo_ would be a better choice this time around."

Yami bit his tongue until it bled, snorting in amusement. "The zoo instead, huh? Nice."

"Haven't seen any orangutans giving birth though. Must be in short supply, huh?"

"Oh _goddamn_ it—"

"Maybe it's not the season…Do you _think_ it might not be the _season_ , Yami?"

"All right, I'm over this conversation—"

"I think it might be spring or summer. What do _you_ think, Yami?"

"I think it might be best for me if I hung up right about now."

"Well, as long as hanging up on me doesn't traumatize you," Yugi snickered in his ear. "We all know how badly you do when you're traumatized, especially where zoos come into play."

"You would have been traumatized too! No one needs to see that, damn it!"

"Oh please, Yami, you wimp. Everyone else regards that kind of thing as a _miracle of life_."

"Saying it like that, in that tone of voice doesn't do much for me."

"That's because you're as flat as this elephant's foot."

"And you—"

Yugi lowered his voice, a husky tone creeping into his words as he murmured, "I could change that. You could become as strong as the tusks if you wanted." He paused. " _If_ you know what I mean."

Yami sputtered and then scowled. "By _Ra_ , Yugi!" he choked out. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Just saying. No need to be as flaccid as the trunk," he sang in his ear, laughing out loud a second later.

Yami couldn't help but smile faintly, rolling his eyes. "I need to go now," he announced, shaking his head and running a hand through his hair again. At least Yugi was enjoying himself—even if it was at his own expense right now.

"Okay, well…" Yugi hesitated for a moment, then cleared his throat. "You're okay though, right?"

He nearly flinched at the concern and anxiety that covered his tone. He had forgotten how open Yugi had become with his emotions now, how he had stopped blocking them away as he had formerly when they had been first fooling around. The sound of it made his stomach turn and he angled his head away from the phone, ashamed for a moment.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he lied quietly. "I think I'll go back to sleep…"

* * *

Ryou looked up as Yami passed by, blinking wide eyes as the other teen's step halted for a split second before he spun on him suddenly. The paler boy jumped a mile and he blinked in shock as the other teen's tray inexplicably joined his and the seat in front of him was taken.

"Ryou, just who I wanted to see," Yami drawled, voice holding a threat that made his spine tight with confusion. The Puzzle glinted from where it rested around his neck and Ryou stared at it in utter dismay; he had never seen the other teen wear it to school before and the thought of it being there made him want to vomit. "Tell me something…"

He swallowed hard, trying to put some distance between them by sitting a little straighter and moving back an inch. Yami snorted softly and leaned forward, effectively holding him captive as their eyes locked and red fire burned the forefront of his mind.

"Can ketamine give you nightmares?"

"Nightmares…?"

" _Vivid_ nightmares—almost like lucid dreaming but….you know…nightmares…"

Ryou blinked slowly and then frowned as he shook his head. "You only…I mean, I didn't give you enough for all of that…"

"No, but they gave me some pain killers that are apparently made with ketamine," Yami snapped, rolling his eyes and feeling his stomach sink as he spotted him from the corner of his eye. The phantom was shaking his head slowly, arms crossed and staring at him pointedly. "About twenty-five milligrams for every six to eight hours?"

He blinked slowly. "Oral?"

Yami nodded and allowed himself to watch Atem from the corner of his eye, annoyed with the sight of his disapproval. "Yeah, pills…"

" _Pills_?" the other echoed with wide eyes. "That's…strange. Normally they only give you the oral in liquid. You would put it in a cup of juice or something to dilute the taste and then drink it."

Yami tilted his head towards him.

"It would have made more sense to give it to you that way too…I mean it would make more sense to give it to you by liquid. Or…by nasal or injection. It doesn't make sense to have given you pills instead of capsules or…"

Yami stayed quiet for a long minute, watching as Atem started to seemingly disappear. He was well aware the other had not left permanently, that most likely if he merely turned his head he would find him standing there or watching, seated next to him.

"Besides, most of the time I've only ever heard of ketamine pills being called ecstasy and used as a date rape that way. Or in generic names but it's still an injection in that form…I never really heard of ketamine being given as a pill for pain before unless it's for an animal. Or at least, I don't think I have outside of depression… I thought for sure if they ever had to give that to you it would be through an intranasal spray."

"Yes, well he gave me pills. So…"

"Maybe he thought you had PTSD," the other mumbled thoughtfully, swallowing hard when Yami's eyes locked on his with a sharp glint that looked like the tip of a dagger. "I've heard of them giving that to soldiers suffering from PTSD…"

Yami nodded slightly, wondering if that was even likely a thought that would have crossed her mind while he was there. Maybe she thought he suffered from it and so needed ketamine prescribed to him. After the incident at the warehouse and his rather erratic attitude that seemed to flip at any moment as well as the fact that he was always reopening his wounds made her think he suffered from it. Perhaps she thought that he pulled out his sutures and allowed them to get infected because he felt like he needed to or something.

The thought was enough to make him scoff but he turned away instead, looking sideways towards where he could feel a couple of people staring. It wasn't often that he sat with someone during lunch—especially if it wasn't Yugi. Most of the time someone came to sit with him—be it his cousins or someone who wanted to fuck around with him or thought it was hilarious to try to proposition him—so it must have been kind of surprising to them. Ryou himself was still staring at him with a slightly fearful, dumbfounded expression. The fact that Ryou was sitting alone at the moment was different, considering someone normally came over to talk to him since there was "still time to save him from unpopularity".

He locked eyes with Joey who was staring in confusion, talking to Tristan next to him while the brunet was munching on his pizza and watching as well. Tea was giving him glances but her expression wasn't something he recognized though he realized it wasn't hostile either. He didn't really care enough to see if he could identify it either, turning away and glancing towards Valon and Alister and Mana and Mahado and eventually Mai and Vivian. Neither of the cheerleaders were paying attention to him but Mana and Mahado were shooting him curious looks, the blonde mouthing if he was okay and Mahado frowning. Valon and Alister saw his look and immediately turned away again, staring at their food as it if it were the most interesting thing in the world.

"Well, I've heard of it giving people nightmares—I'm not sure how vivid, however. And it normally happens with withdrawal too, but I also know that most people grow used to the drug rather rapidly so side effects like nightmares normally go away quickly."

Yami nodded shortly and got to his feet, glancing at his tray and scoffing loudly before turning on his heel and starting off for the other side of the room. As expected, Atem was at his side again, keeping pace, and the teen wondered what someone would think if they could see the spirit. They probably looked like twins, one solid and the other transparent, and the thought unnerved him violently.

* * *

"How was school?"

"It was…okay, I guess. I bailed the second half of the day," Yami admitted dismissively as he tapped his fingers against the table and glanced at the microwave. The bright red numbers slowly counted down and his stomach rumbled unhappily, reminding him scornfully that he had skipped lunch.

"What?" Yugi asked in surprise and he smiled as he imagined the smaller boy blinking stupidly at the idea. "Why the hell did you do that?"

"Well, I wasn't going to miss anything by doing it," Yami stated simply. "I just got too bored to want to stay."

His tongue felt heavy with the lie as he continued watching the numbers on the screen; why couldn't they move faster? He was finally hungry enough to use them and he was dying to eat by now. He leaned forward, willing time to speed up, and the Puzzle clinked against the smoothed side of the table, the chain shaking gently against his throat with the collision. His stomach twisted at the way his mind circled the object once more, something he had hoped talking to Yugi would prevent. He had spent the day talking to Atem and trying to catch up on some much-needed sleep—which he failed at miserably—and he had no desire to dwell on the stupid artifact any longer. He wanted nothing more than to toss it in the trash at this rate.

His ire flared for a moment, his mind burning with it, but it dissipated immediately as soon as Yugi spoke.

"Well then, as long as you didn't do it to skip out on a test or something," the smaller snorted with an edge of disbelief and amusement. "Hell, I can't even picture you doing that, honestly."

"Oh please! I've skipped tests before."

"Seriously?"

Yami pursed his lips. "Okay, that might have been more out of me being late for school than anything else, but it's happened!" he objected, blushing and smiling widely, a warm feeling settling inside of him, as Yugi burst out laughing.

" _Nice,_ Yami."

"Well, not all of us are troublemakers, okay? I'll have you know that most people _don't_ wear chokers and revealing clothes after school or call themselves a slut when they've only ever had sex with one person before."

"Oh my god, you're never going to let me live that down," Yugi scoffed, and Yami imagined him rolling his eyes and sighing loudly. "It's not my fault that everyone assumed that and then _you_ went along with it! You should have known I wasn't a fucking slut just because I was in bed with you. I'm sure there are much better lays around the corner."

Yami flinched but kept his voice level. "Um, ow? By Ra, Yugi!" He paused, then snickered, "No one would have let you in their bed in the first place though, Yugi, because you look too much like a bondage slave with kinky shit going on. Plus, I'm pretty sure if you were to open your legs _that_ much, Ushio would be the first person to bone you."

"Son of a f—" Yugi spat, disgusted, and he pictured him shuddering in disgust. "You did not just say that."

"What? Does the truth hurt too much?"

"Oh my god, why do I put up with you again?"

"Because I'm the only one who can put up with you for extended amounts of time?"

"Funny. I thought it was because the sex was nice," Yugi hummed quietly.

"Yes, well…"

"You need to up your game, Yami. This right here is honestly super pathetic."

Yami flushed and threw the phone with a cry as the microwave went off loudly, a long deep noise like a ferry horn rather than a beep. "What the _fuck_?" he cried out, gawking at the microwave as it let out another of the loud noises.

Yugi howled with laughter, the speaker on now from where Yami's finger had brushed against it when it had slipped from his hand. "Oh my gods, that was _perfect_!" he laughed and Yami swore he could just see Yugi wiping a tear from his eye. "What the hell is that anyways?"

"My microwave…" the other mumbled in confusion, frowning before heading for the door and pressing the button to pop it open.

"Ha, appliances do act weird around ghosts!" Atem's familiar voice laughed from behind him, making his head snap around with wide eyes before glowering in annoyance. "What? It's not like he can hear me."

Yami scowled and shook his head, dropping his voice drastically. "Why are you even _here_? I thought I talked to you enough earlier. Leave me alone so I can speak to Yugi."

"Yami?"

"Give me a second, Yugi."

Atem's eyebrows shot up for a moment with a glance at the phone before turning back to him. "Very well, eat and speak to him but I _will_ be back."

"Warnings are so nice," he hissed quietly.

"If you're trying to talk to me, I can't hear you. And if you're talking to yourself, could you do it louder so I can laugh at you a little?"

Yami smirked lopsidedly and the pharaoh glanced at the slim device once more before disappearing again. "I could but I don't think I will," he announced loudly, digging into the drawer to grab a fork and looking his frozen dinner over with a wrinkled nose. How did anyone expect such a small bit of food to actually feed them? He shuddered, shaking his head, and took a seat next to the phone again, poking at the sesame chicken and wondering why the hell he had even gotten it in the first place. He had seen an advertisement for it on TV, something about losing weight, and while he hadn't cared about its significance in weight loss, he had been curious about its taste.

He stirred it, sniffing, and then looked at the phone as he heard Yugi mumbling something to Rebecca who was laughing softly somewhere in the background. "At this rate I'm just going to get a house and hide in the basement for the rest of my life—never see anyone or anything ever again, and just not bother anymore," Yugi muttered now.

"Not a very nice idea, considering you didn't invite me," Yami snorted loudly, poking a piece of chicken and frowning slightly. Maybe he should have gotten dumplings from that restaurant he had passed by. But then eating dumplings with a fork would have seemed utterly awkwardly and he wasn't in the mood to fumble around with chopsticks. He may have gotten muscle memory of the action for the most part but at times it was downright embarrassing when he fucked up the movements and prayed no one noticed. Bakura had actually fallen out of his seat and curled up under the table on several occasions when Yami had accidentally sent a piece of food flying to hit himself in the face. Malik gave him sympathetic looks around laughs and tried to cover his mouth but most ended up just guffawing. Seto always wound up sighing loudly, covering his face with a hand and shaking his head with an irritated glance at him from the corner of his eye. Mokuba found it so funny that he actually made sure he had his phone ready to record at any moment so he wouldn't lose it if Yami did it again.

And he was not oblivious to those few times he had held them wrong and his cousins would look at him awkwardly as the unintentional action was highly disrespectful. So he tried to avoid chopsticks as often as possible unless he was dead set on it, which he had to admit didn't happen often but occurred rather randomly at times.

"Yeah, well…you think a tank top is revealing so I'm not entirely sure I should invite you at all. Might try to cramp my style and make me wear… _proper_ clothes."

Yami blushed, snorting, as Rebecca howled with laughter. "Well, preferably we would be wearing nothing but sure, if you really want to, feel free to not invite me and play with yourself," he scoffed.

"N-no—I apologize! Oh my gods, I'm so sorry Yami! I can't—okay, I'll keep you in the basement with me and—"

"Too late."

"Are you… _rejecting_ me?"

"Putting emphasis on it doesn't make me want to disagree," he snorted. "And yes, I am rejecting you—wholeheartedly. I have no desire to ever go with you anywhere ever again."

Yugi's voice came out as a startled cry. "No, wait, what? Come back!"

"Ooh, so, if he's rejecting you forever, does that mean I can have you?"

" _No!_ " he cried loudly, Yami laughing out loud at how distressed the other sounded. " _Fuck_ no, Rebecca."

"Well how rude is that? Can you believe what he just said to me, Yami?"

"So rude," Yami chided, nibbling on the chicken and growing pleased with the sweet taste of the sauce that coated the piece of poultry and the tenderness. "You should kick him out for that. Just leave him on the side of the street and—"

"You have to be the single worst boyfriend in the world," Yugi scoffed loudly, voice taking on a sharp shrillness that made the other snicker in amusement. "I swear. Some chick tries to steal me away and you agree with her when she says _I'm_ rude. Kind of pathetic if you ask me."

He snorted, continuing to eat his meal, and then listened to Rebecca retort, "That's because girls are always right and you're so mean all around that Yami is wondering how to sell you on the black market right about now."

"Hmm…well the black market might be a stretch," Yami replied, "but I was thinking prostitution might just be right up his alley."

"No, _bad_ Yami! Stop that!" Yugi snapped loudly. "And you—shut up."

"Hey, no oppressing people. Americans have laws against that. Wait until you're somewhere else before you start that up."

"What? You were supposed to be on my side!"

"Thanks for the reminder. I always kind of forget."

"You're welcome."


	4. Slow

**Disclaimer: I own nothing pertaining to Yu-Gi-Oh**

 **Note: Story will be updated every Wednesday**

 **Chapter Warning: Chapter is rated MA (Mature Adult) for sexual content (lemon)**

 **Lemon Warning: If you don't want to read the lemon, just skip around and read the dialogue instead**

 **Lemon Note: Again, if you want to skip the lemon, just read the dialogue and ignore the rest. The lemons actually DO serve a purpose, though, so yeah, I didn't just write it and post it without a reason...**

 **Note: Yugi is no longer in** **California** **. So the time difference is done for the moment. They will be more in the future since it's vital to the plot (and I'll probably kill myself trying to keep it straight at all times lol).**

 **Warning: If you're squeamish about some sexual acts, be aware that Yugi and Yami kind of…dip their hands in some "taboo" foreplay. According to research, the first time with it is actually pretty overwhelming or extremely uncomfortable for the party more…intimately involved in it. The few articles I read said it was quite addicting so there's that too. That's why Yami reacts the way he does.**

Chapter IV: Slow

Yugi smirked in amusement; Yami hadn't noticed him yet. His legs were still propped up and open, his book balanced against his knees, still completely caught up in the story he was reading. Mischief surged through him immediately and his lips curled into a wide smirk as he started towards the bed. He snuck forward slowly so that he wouldn't catch his attention; if he moved leisurely enough, Yami would be completely oblivious to his presence in the room. The book would have the red-eyed teen's complete attention until he was ready to pounce.

When he flipped the page, Yugi sprang and moved to crawl between his legs, laughing at the way that Yami had to do a double take. His brows furrowed in confusion and his eyes narrowed into slits, blinking twice before chuckling in amusement at the smaller boy's antics.

"Reading when you _know_ I'm going to come over," Yugi scoffed playfully, reaching forward to tickle his stomach some. The other teen squirmed and pulled the book around his side to smack his hand away, red eyes warm.

"I have to have _something_ to do!" he muttered, rolling his eyes and pushing him over. The smaller teen rolled onto his back at his side, legs tangling with the other boy's left as he looked at him with a raised brow.

"You couldn't have just fantasized about us fucking?"

"I wouldn't have lasted long enough for that."

Yugi burst out laughing and reached forward to grab one of his long bangs, tugging lightly and gaining a small smirk. "That is so true. No one can last when they fantasize about _moi_."

"I wasn't aware you spoke French," Yami commented teasingly, raising a brow once more and grabbing his wrist. He moved his palm up to slip his hand against his and twine their fingers together while the smaller squeezed once and hummed, glancing at the book in his hand.

"Of course. I'm multilingual because I'm badass—and that book sucks. How dare you read it instead of fantasizing about me!"

"Oh please, Yugi! You've never even read it. You're just saying that because you wanted me hot and bothered and waiting for you on the bed when you came," Yami snorted.

"Damn straight," he muttered, looking at him and reaching his free hand to touch at the pulse point in his neck. "Ooh, oh look at that, your heart is beating faster."

"Stop rubbing your knee against my crotch."

"Hell no. I'm horny."

Yami chuckled in amusement and used his own free knee to push the smaller boy's legs away, moving a couple of inches away. Yugi watched with keen eyes as the book was tossed onto his nightstand and the other crawled towards him alluringly, eyes smoldering before he collapsed abruptly on top of the smaller teen's stomach. "I'm too tired."

"Oh hell to the _fuck_ no," he cried, glaring. "You _cannot_ be serious right now."

"Quite," he objected, burying his face into the soft material of his shirt and closing his deep red eyes. Yugi reveled in the feel of his breathing against his stomach, warming and cooling his skin alternately and making his spine tighten with pleasure.

" _Seriously_?" he whined, sighing softly. "I should have come earlier."

Yami chuckled softly and moved his hand to strum on Yugi's slim hip, rubbing gently with his thumb and peeking an eye open to see the frustrated expression marring the other's face. Yugi narrowed his eyes at the playful light that entered his red gaze and waited for him to speak again. "But there _is_ something I've been just _dying_ to try out and it takes two people, touching, and a lot of moaning."

"Vibrator?" Yugi guessed immediately, wrinkling his nose at the idea; he preferred Yami hard and throbbing inside of him or wrapped so tightly around him that it made him feel as if he were caught inside a tunnel of burning lava. The look on Yami's face changed completely from playful to one almost akin offended. His eyes clearly told him to get real and he nearly laughed at himself because, in retrospect, he should have _known_ better than to even ask. The red-eyed teen was apparently turned off by every single little sex toy that man had in existence. The _one_ time he had managed to drag him into a porn shop, Yami had stared with a rigidly bored expression, almost pouting with his hands in his jacket pockets and his red eyes distinctly disinterested with everything. Yugi hadn't actually _wanted_ anything because he hardly felt they needed something when they were working pretty well as it was, just stimulating each other with words or touches, heavy kisses. He'd only gone in there because he had wanted so badly to see Yami's reaction to it; Mr. Higher Up had not disappointed.

He was as polite as always when the employees spoke to him, inquiring about if he needed something or if there was anything in particular he had wanted. Yugi had watched him intently purely for the reason of seeing him wrinkle his nose the moment they were gone. He had spent over two hours just teasing him about one toy or another; he had to love the stubborn and strongly-opinionated teen because fuck him if that hadn't been one of the funniest things he had ever seen. The one-eighty came so randomly that it was impossible to even see it happen in the meantime.

"Dumb thought," Yugi commented, snickering when Yami gave him a _No duh_ look and lay his chin on his stomach, still rubbing at his hip. He licked his lips, savoring the sensation of his soft fingers moving over his skin so delicately. "So what is it that you wanted to do that involves _all_ the things I love?"

The red-eyed teen smirked the smallest bit and closed his eyes momentarily, shifting closer to his side in order to stroke at his ribcage with his free hand. Yugi let out a small purr of contentment at the touch, loving the feel of his long, warm digits leaving gossamer trails of fire over the flesh beneath his shirt.

"It's more of an experiment," he admitted, opening his eyes and studying him curiously, red eyes sharp and searching as Yugi blinked and stared at him. He had to wonder about this, frowning as the possibilities passed through his mind.

Yami was completely gay. From what he had told him about the one time he had slept with a girl, he could not get it up completely, only partially, and it had left him with the issue of having to take Viagra. So his initial response was out.

Worriedly, he muttered, "You don't…want a threesome or something, do you?"

Yami was the only one who had ever seen him naked, the only one who he had ever slept with, touched, willingly kissed or played around with, so the idea of a third party being added made his stomach twist. Surely Yami wasn't getting so bored with him…?

"Uh, how about no?" Yami deadpanned, shaking his head and showing mercy in not sneering at him about the response. He wondered if it was painted on his face or if Yami actually knew exactly what was crossing his mind as he always seemed to without prompt. He sat up, leaning back some, and reached forward to push Yugi onto his back, feeling his heart pound and flutter beneath his palm before he stretched himself out to lean over the entirety of his upper body, smiling widely. "Just us."

Yugi couldn't help the small breath of relief that left his lips as he smiled slightly and reached his hands up to grab a fistful of Yami's shirt and touch his side. The small twitch of skin even beneath the thin cotton material told him that he was touching his wounded side. "Just us, huh?" he purred sultrily, blue-violet eyes sparking like electricity, drowning in a sea of deep red.

"Mmhmm." Yami leaned his face towards his, red eyes smoldering and teasingly playful as he hovered only an inch above him. Yugi could feel his entire body catching on fire beneath him, breathing hard for a split second as they stared at one another. "I want to see if merely fingering me will make me as hot and bothered as you _want_ me to be…"

Yugi entertained the thought of arguing that it was wrong to stimulate him but it was far from true. If Yami was hot and bothered Yugi would get his prize as the other teen didn't touch himself like that. He had been raised to think that it was the job of his partner—his _female_ partner—to touch him in any way down there. Yugi had never really understood that concept, but he had never exactly played with himself. In all reality, he had found it hard to get hard instantly while watching videos or TV shows, no matter how heavy the sexual atmosphere. No, he got hot and bothered with thoughts of fucking Yami or having Yami fucking him. He got to the point of touching himself only when that happened, but otherwise the entire concept bored him. And half the time, when he was hot and bothered, he wouldn't touch himself just because he knew that if he found Yami afterwards, the other teen would have fun with the task.

And besides that, if Yami was stimulated to the point that he was moaning and writhing beneath him even without being completely wrapped around him, then Yugi knew he wouldn't last long after that. He supposed it should have been embarrassing that he sometimes came just watching Yami, but he found it oddly comforting just knowing that Yami held his attention so acutely that he didn't even have to bother looking at others to be struck with an orgasm. He liked that fantasies did not have to plague his mind constantly in order for him to fall into such a massive pool of practically never-ending pleasure and desire.

"And then I get to fuck you, right?" he purred, watching as Yami raised a brow, snorting in open amusement, and nodded. "Fuck yeah!"

Yami chuckled and rolled when Yugi pushed him onto his back, straddling him and licking his lips. Yugi had to love that the teen was always willing to let him do whatever he wanted as far as topping went. If Yami was anyone else, it was possible that he would have been turned off by the idea of bottoming at a single second's notice. The smaller teen had a tendency to want to jump his bones or have Yami jump his without much prompting. The teen would let him top but it was always obvious when it went on for too long, became too frequent, because the red-eyed male was the more dominant of the two of them and he got frustrated with it every now and then. Yugi had found that he could make him stretch it out as a bottom for over twelve days but when they hit about fourteen Yami started to lose patience with it all. And considering how often they found themselves messing around under the sheets, it wasn't surprising that around the third day he got restless even if he did manage to stretch it as long as he could.

The last time he had topped a time too many Yami had ended up shoving him off of him in the middle. Yugi had been laughing his ass off, _knowing_ that he had pushed the limit, and he had enjoyed the little patience Yami had exhibited. The taller teen had started pounding him into the mattress like a sexually frustrated virgin almost immediately.

It wasn't often but Yami would get impatient with his dominance, heeding way for his submissive side. It was more uncommon than Yugi's own submissive tendencies but he would roll over for him if he was really in the mood for being the dominant once in a while.

Yugi liked the fact that Yami was comfortable enough with him that he could submit instead of constantly pushing at dominance. They had never actually fought over who topped because it seemed natural in the way they moved. Visual cues or stronger touches were given occasionally but most of the time just seemed natural.

And Yami was easier going when it came to positions than most would be. He had no actual shame in admitting when he wanted Yugi inside of him or vice versa. He may have been raised to believe that homosexuality was wrong and condemning but it was obvious that he didn't believe those things. Yugi honestly wondered if Yami ever actually _had_ considered that a reality for even a moment.

Mostly he thought it was because he had had his parents shoving that down his throat for so long that it had horrified him to actually even consider applying the concept to himself. But Yugi had never been able to picture him as one to turn away from someone who admitted to being bisexual or homosexual. Yugi hadn't honestly thought about that when Yami had reacted the way he had to the idea of being homosexual. He had gotten mad and scared and freaked out and denied it so Yugi had merely thought he was a homophobic hypocrite for his actions until he had found out about how he was raised.

Yugi shook the thought off as Yami lightly tugged on the front of his shirt, eyes questioning. But Yugi wasn't in the mood for talking. He wanted inside of the red-eyed teen lying beneath him waiting and silently offering him his ears if he needed to talk.

His lips curved up into a small devilish grin in answer to his unspoken query and Yami let out a soft snort before moving his hands to slip them beneath his cotton graphic tee, splaying his fingers over his rapidly-heating skin and sinking. He arched his back and purred as the other teen sank the tips of his long nails into his flesh for a split section, the sensation driving the smaller teen insane.

That was another great thing about Yami. He was observant as all fuck and he paid attention to the tiniest details, retaining memory of such simple sexual things that no one else would have noticed or bothered with.

Normally their little games started with heated kisses and maybe the occasional wandering hand. But for the most part it was tongues and taste that drove them into sex like a pair of animals in heat.

"Why exactly haven't I made out with you yet?" he wondered out loud, smirking when Yami raised a brow in playful challenge, as if he would be able to stop him if they both started. Yugi leaned forward to rectify the situation, dying to taste the heat of a cool dark winter night.

"Nope," Yami cut in, pushing at his chest to make him stop short. " _Only_ fingering. No kisses."

"…You're…fucking joking, right?"

Yami snorted in amusement. "Not at all."

"Oh fuck me," Yugi complained. "You choose today of all days to be so fucking picky?"

"Mm. My apologies."

"You snarky little shit," Yugi laughed, shaking his head and staring at him for a long moment; yes, Yami was truly dead serious. "All right. Fine. But just so you know I plan to fuck you so hard you won't be able to sit for weeks."

"I look forward to it," he purred, a chuckle escaping at the edge of his words and making Yugi shiver. Fucking hell. How was he supposed to keep himself together when Yami was going to drive him so far up the wall?

He forced the thought off to start nuzzling the skin above his pulse point, teeth moving to draw in a single bit of flesh in a small nibble. Yami tensed and hissed out a breath that had Yugi snickering against his skin. Yami's neck was one of the spots that drove him to his knees, weak and practically keening for attention. And Yugi abused the hell out of it whenever they fought, no matter the content of the argument or the level of seriousness that existed in it. Their last fight over a carton of milk had Yugi sucking and licking and scraping his teeth over and assaulting his neck like a dog humping someone's leg. The taller teen had driven him mad as always when he was feisty and angry and pissed, the very sight steering him into an overload of lust. Yami could fight back if he wanted, Yugi knew this, but most of the time he melted into it and he was very well aware it was only because he loved him so much that he would do so. Otherwise Yugi would be flustered and angry and so hard that he'd practically be dead from his brain being devoid of blood.

Yugi wasn't sure what it was about fights with the taller teen that had him so hot and bothered so immediately. But he guessed it was the idea of his feistiness in bed because the other male had a habit of being anything but compliant when this happened. He fought tooth and nail in more subtle ways than denying him with physical affection he often found himself craving. He got rougher with his touches, his kisses, and his teeth always nipped and scraped, bit but never quite marked. He had broken skin twice, once by accident and the other completely on purpose after Yugi had gotten in a fight at school and the two had spent the entire walk back to his house arguing. Neither of them had scarred, of course, because Yami had not put enough force into them to do so, but that small burst of pain had sent him reeling. It had throbbed in time with that strange pulse of energy that existed between them before being coaxed into a simple, warm sting by Yami's soothing tongue. And the whole sensation always did wonders for him.

Yugi shuddered at the idea, pleasure and lust like fire burning through him in doses of lava beneath his skin. Gods, this boy…

He latched to the spot beneath Yami's ear where he could feel the rhythm of his steady pulse beneath his lips, teeth sinking into his skin. He tugged after a moment, gaining a low soft growl from the other male who pressed his nails into his skin again.

"Fingering only," he managed from behind his bared teeth, a hiss of appreciation coming out before he could properly think to stop it.

Yugi drew back and stared at him as if he had just managed to grow two extra heads for a split second. Well, he _had_ grown a couple of inches since he had been gone, so it wouldn't have surprised him if he suddenly had two extra heads hidden around. "You're no fun today," he grumbled, narrowing his eyes into slits.

"You have to play the _game_ if you want the _prize_ ," the taller teen purred, letting out a soft heated moan that threw his frustrated and devious mind into a blank state of overwhelming lust.

"You play _dirty_ ," he commented, slightly awed. Yami had always been somewhat picky when it came to bottoming but he had never exactly gone so far to get what he wanted like this. "I like."

"Thought you might," he snickered.

Yugi snorted and licked his lips, ignoring the strain of the erection that was currently growing in his tight jeans. His fingers moved to scrape his nails over his stomach for a moment, drifting to his pants. Only fingering. Yugi honestly had to wonder where the fuck Yami had gotten this idea. If the point was to drive _him_ insane, it was _working_.

"No talking?" he asked, unsure of what else he could say on the matter.

"If you keep it PG," the other responded easily, giving him a challenging smirk that made him bite back a discontent growl of irritation.

Gods, he really _was_ trying to kill him, wasn't he?

Yugi squeezed his eyes shut tightly for a split second before shaking his head once and going for the zipper of his jeans, fingers grasping the metal fly and slowly dragging it down. What could possibly be PG enough to keep Yami talking? He needed something to help him because if he had nothing to assist him then Yami was going to end up embedded in the mattress permanently and Yugi really wasn't sure he liked that idea much. A good accessory maybe but he liked being able to fuck him whenever and wherever.

He moved his hands to slip them beneath his waistband, gripping with blunt fingernails that bit into his skin and made a small moan of discomfort and pain escape the red-eyed teen.

"Fuck, sorry, Yami," he apologized quickly, relaxing his fingers immediately but already feeling completely out of breath with the heat that boiled in his veins and left him wanting to moan in ecstasy. "I didn't mean to grab you like that."

Yami nodded, knowing exactly what was going on; Yugi was thinking too hard about what he wanted and his impatience had made him a little harsher than usual. It was not something he was unused to when he himself had done the same when he grew annoyed with bottoming too often. "Just a little softer."

"But not _too_ soft, right?" Yugi asked with a sly smirk, making Yami chuckle in amusement. "A little rough."

"Fuck yes."

His thumbs moved in soothing circles over his skin where it had reddened slightly. If Yami wasn't being so strange and picky tonight, he would kiss him and slowly nudge his lips until they parted and he could lace tongues with him. Instead he felt Yami's hands move to his upper arms, feeling his muscles flex beneath his shirt.

Yami moved his head back some to expose his neck, his hands sliding upwards to rest on his shoulders, closing his eyes and feeling the way Yugi's muscles moved beneath his fingers. The smaller teen moved to duck his head into the groove of his neck, sniffing deeply and purring, "Fuck, you smell so _good._ "

"Hmm. It's a wonder what soap can do for you," the red-eyed teen snickered playfully, smiling lopsidedly as the smaller teen pulled back to look at him with keen affection. Yugi swallowed thickly against the impulse to suck on his skin and try to devour his mouth. That smile was one of the most beautiful that he knew to grace Yami's face, and it was so rare that every time it appeared he had to take a moment to savor it. It somehow never failed to make his knees feel weak, no matter if they were about to play around or if it was just in passing with a small comment in the hallways at school.

His fingers trembled as he started to pull lightly on Yami's jeans, licking his lips and tapping his index against his hipbone. The taller teen raised his waist for him to pull his pains off easily, the blue-violet-eyed teen moving to drag them off to join his black skinny jeans. Yugi moved to pull at Yami's shirt, licking his lips again when the other boy leaned up to help him get the cotton fabric off and expose his softly toned stomach.

"Aw, fuck," Yugi hissed, shaking his head slightly and not even bothering to put an effort into hiding it when he reached down and adjusted himself through his jeans. Yami purred teasingly, narrowing his eyes in laughter, the red gaze burning, as he watched how he had turned the other on so easily.

Then again, he _had_ said he was ready to fuck a sofa by the time he had arrived. So maybe it wasn't completely him and his lazy efforts. The idea would have made him frown if he hadn't learned something rather comforting about the other boy when it came to him. Yugi never got hard unless he was thinking about him and the many things he wanted to do with him. He would get a certain look in his eyes when he was thinking about something else—especially when he decided he might check someone out to make him jealous—but beyond that, he was all about him.

"Do you want me to use lube or not?"

His lip curled in disgust. "Ew."

Yugi smirked and shook his head, licking his lips and moving forward to lean over him, mouth watering with the desire to suck on his skin or tie their tongues together. But Yami wouldn't be nearly as receptive to him with his mind so caught up on having his theory tested. A sighed passed through him at the idea before he shrugged it off and buried his face into the crook of his neck, moving his hand to his legs.

The taller teen moved his hands to settle his palms over the blades of his shoulders, struggling not to moan at the sensation of hot air ghosting over his skin. Briefly he trailed his nails over his shirt, scratching his skin lightly as the small blasts of warmth made his spine tingle and arousal surge through him momentarily.

"What do you want?" Yugi asked softly, watching him closely. _I'll give you anything and everything, Yami, you know that…_

Yami smirked slightly as he reached up to grasp at his hair and pull him forward, breathing, "I'm not playing this game with you yet, Yugi" into his ear and making him tremble once. Immediately his grip loosened, his fingers kneading at the soft flesh of his scalp in case he had hurt him in any way.

"Damn it," Yugi hissed, rolling his eyes and smirking widely. "Smartass."

"You shouldn't have tried it yet. It's too early for that."

"You know, the more you make me wait, the rougher this is going to end up," he sniped.

"It took you a bit longer than usual to figure out the point of this game," Yami drawled.

He snickered, moving his legs between Yami's, pushing his thighs open with his knees and pressing his fingertip to the ring of muscle. For a moment Yami looked almost startled before he arched his hips up to wrap his legs around the smaller teen's waist. His hands squeezed lightly, playfully, where they rested against his shoulders, and he licked his lips as he watched him. Yugi buried his nose into the hair in front of his ear, holding a rougher inhale and expelling a gust of warmth as Yami shuddered and his breath came out oddly both labored and controlled.

When he pulled back Yami was pleased with the sight that greeted him. He liked the way that Yugi's eyes always looked when they became hooded. He always enjoyed the way his long eyelashes framed his blue-violet eyes, darkening them in a way that never failed to still him with their unusual shade. Such beautiful ringlets of blue around his pupils, the violet tint overshadowed with a dark almost royal shade of blue when his lashes cast shadows over his gaze.

He could feel the pulse everywhere under his skin, warm and growing to higher temperatures in only seconds, growing stronger when he felt the jump in Yugi's veins beneath his fingers. The pulse between them was back as always, and Yami wondered if his heart was main-lining all of his blood towards where they were about to touch. Yami tilted his head up and watched him curiously, finding that he had moved his left, free hand to his ribcage. He furrowed his brows slightly, watching as he began to gently rub circles with his thumb.

He wasn't entirely sure why Yugi was trying his hand at distracting him, but he was willing to bet it was because he had not bottomed for a few weeks now. But he doubted that it would make much of a difference anyways. They had always been careful with each other regardless of the fact that they went dry rather than lubricated, but he honestly was not very surprised by Yugi's concern for him.

The finger entered uncomfortably, as it always did, but it was not painful, something that both of them were well aware of. The lack of pain always kind of surprised him purely because everyone claimed it hurt, but it was not true in any way as far as their experiences went. They had used lube once and not again after, both of them rather unhappy with the results they had gotten from the experience.

The circumstances had been anything but ideal considering, but it was still not something that leaped out as something they wanted to do again.

It simply seemed more fulfilling to be without, and the very thought was liberating in itself.

He bucked back against his finger and Yugi hissed out a soft moan at the feel of heat enveloping the digit, nearly purring at the sensation. Yami moved to draw him further inside than the single knuckle he had paused at momentarily to allow him time to adjust. He would have rolled his eyes at the thought if it was not so sweet in the first place, and instead fought away a smirk. "Yugi," he murmured, voice low and roughly edged, immediately causing the blue-violet orbs to stretch wide and his mouth to water. He nearly laughed out loud when Yugi swallowed thickly, but managed to smirk widely instead.

The smaller hastily moved his finger up and down, a deep moan seeping out from the back of his throat and deep in his chest when Yami mimicked his actions, grinding and meeting his finger thrust for thrust. He bit his cheeks hard enough so that blood spilled across his tongue, the sting of cut flesh making him want to scream in annoyance; gods, if only the red-eyed teen wasn't so fucking stubborn. He wanted to press their mouths together, kiss until they were breathless and Yami was writhing and moaning into him. But he was well aware that Yami would not be very receptive to it considering his desire to complete his little "experiment".

Damn Yami and his torturous curiosity.

Yugi was so going to die.

"Say something," he ground out between his teeth.

He blinked and then snickered in amusement, shifting and arching when Yugi struck his prostate with the tip of his finger. He did not respond immediately to his words, instead reveling in the sensation as he moved his finger again, and eventually raised his left arm to show off his wrist. There were several small, thin lines of bright red that had grown thicker towards where they seemed to suddenly curve. For a moment he thought of a shallow razor blade knick and then felt his shoulders stiffen as he ignored the strong bite of blood in his mouth to look them over more fully.

It almost looked as if he had cut himself somehow, but at the same time…

He knew that Yami was borderline depressed but he didn't think he would hurt himself. Still, he wasn't entirely sure and so his voice came out sharper than he intended as he demanded, "What the fuck is that?" He prodded gently with his second finger, narrowing his eyes as he looked Yami over briefly. If he was going to cut himself, wouldn't he have done it deeper anyways? These looked like scratches…

He pried gently with his middle finger, pushing slightly and then pausing only momentarily to allow him to adjust somewhat.

"That shitty bitch of a cat next door. She climbed in to the tree in the front of the yard yesterday. Her fucking owner wouldn't let me go inside if I wouldn't help her get her cat out. So I had to try to get it and it decided to use my wrist as a scratching post."

That made a lot more sense.

"So what'd you do?"

"I pushed her out of the tree."

Yugi burst out laughing, picturing it and growing distinctly satisfied with the image in his head before hissing behind his teeth as his boyfriend reacted to his prodding. His head was thrown back further into the mattress and a low, throaty moan was bubbling out of his mouth, his body momentarily clamping around his fingers with the touch to his prostate. "Oh yes. That's just great, Yami."

"She's a cat! She landed on her feet!"

"That's not even…wow. I bet her owner just _loved_ you after that."

"…She wanted to jump my bones afterwards."

Yugi choked and glared while Yami smirked widely, snickering and bucking against his fingers again. His eyelids momentarily feathered to a close, his cheeks taking on a slight flush, and he purred in satisfaction before looking at him again.

"I wasn't aware you were so casual about being fucked by a pedophile, Yami."

"I honestly have to wonder what I see in you at times like this."

"I should be saying that."

"Too late. Already said it."

Yugi raised an eyebrow, voice mocking as he grumbled, "Your immaturity is _astounding_."

"Don't sass me," Yami snapped, moaning and tightening his grip drastically against his shoulders, hissing through his teeth a moment later. His legs wrapped more firmly around the other male's waist and Yugi licked his lips at the pleasurable sensation.

"Sassing is what I do best."

Yami barked out a laugh. "I thought last week you said _fucking_ was what you did best."

Yugi's cheeks brightened slightly, wrinkling his nose at the statement. "Don't be jealous that you don't have the skills I do," he grumbled.

"Who tops the most, Yugi?"

"Yeah, but that's because you're always so _anal_ about it."

"Fuck you. I'm versatile. Just…not for too long…"

"Actually, I'm fucking you, not the other way around. Got it?"

"Oh, oh, I see! So you're going to try to be all _assertive_ now because you're topping, huh?"

"Dominance is how I roll…bitch."

Yami chuckled in amusement and rolled his eyes, raising a brow and giving him a momentarily fond look that made Yugi's stomach twist briefly. The taller teen began purring after a moment as his third finger was pressed inside of him fully. He licked his lips at the sight, amused out of his mind as the older boy craned his neck further and showed just how turned on he was by something so simple.

They probably could have been arguing about his parents dying and where to bury them and he would still melt under his touch like this. But if it was something far more serious to them both then Yami would be all attention and not the least bit amused or aroused, despite the stimulation. Red eyes would be glaring, eyebrow raised, gaze narrowed, jaw clenched and he'd be spitting at him not to touch him. Yugi knew this because the red-eyed teen was so stubborn it sometimes honestly amazed him that they did not butt heads more often.

But Yami was also smart enough to know when to pick his battles and he was not one for those instant, stupid fights that had no purpose in the long run. Small quarrels were easily resolved, whether with a kiss or just talking it out, maybe soft touches, but either way, Yami was not one for picking a pointless one, nor fighting a battle he knew he would lose.

If he thought the odds were equal or tipped in his favor, if he considered the ends justified the means or the prize was _worth_ the effort, then there was no chance of stopping him when he took the opposing side in an argument. He would bulldoze and push an opponent near to the breaking point and he would win because he was far too composed and levelheaded to fall to the need to snap and bristle like others.

Yugi had yet to see something truly get out of hand with the other teen when it came down to it. When Yami was not so completely stressed out, he was far too easily in control of everything. So he went quiet instead of growing loud and furious when he was frustrated, so it was hard to get an extreme reaction out of him. Sometimes he found it harder to deal with than if Yami got mad and threatened him. That silence he fell into often made him more intimidating and Yugi had been on the end of it once and he'd been pinned down and forced to stare at dark red eyes. He only remembered it at rare moments, because he had had that gray film over them, something that was wholly ingrained in his memory and refused to ever leave him. But it had only been once that he had gotten him so angry that he had lashed out and it had been because he had snooped and gotten into his phone.

He shook the idea off, looking at Yami who purred and smiled warmly despite his eyes being closed, moving against his fingers as if his life depended on it. Sometimes Yugi honestly had to wonder how it was that Yami had so much energy after prepping because he was the one who did most of the work instead.

Yugi thought maybe it was just sexual frustration or stress or even just…well… _him_ that energized the red-eyed teen. He could, after all, practically prep himself on Yugi's fingers and still go two to three hours under the sheets with him for one round. There would be a small break for him to catch his breath before the second, third, fourth, fifth, maybe even eighth that followed soon after.

He was insatiable and Yugi loved that about him because he could match him pace for pace when he was horny and it happened so often that his grandpa had not really been exaggerating when he had said they went it at it like bunnies. He just tended to get rather hot and bothered just by seeing Yami was in the same room with him. Especially when the taller teen moved around and walked with that regal stance of his. He had this gentle sway of his hips that no one else noticed because they didn't know him well enough to recognize it. There was also the fact that no one else paid attention to him anymore because of their exposure which had made everything go considerably downhill. But the occasional new student at Domino High would look at him and gawk and some of the girls would drool a little.

And why not?

He was five foot six with the wildest hair you would ever find—borderline sex hair, was what Yugi called it while Yami would roll his eyes—with a lean build that made him look taller than he was at times. He had slim legs and narrow hips with a slender upper body that held a perfectly-proportioned neck atop a sharp collarbone. And then his jaw line was acutely chiseled and he had those somewhat high cheekbones and what most would call _the_ most stunningly dangerous-looking eyes you would ever see. His gaze was the color of fresh blood that held a speck of every shade of red imaginable, all contained in sharp, heavily lashed eyes that were so controlled that you saw what he _wanted_ and nothing more.

And if it was not for all the shit that they had gone through together, Yugi would have continued to assume that it was nothing but a simple fling between them. If it hadn't been forced on him, he would never have honestly admitted it to himself—let alone _Yami_ —that it actually was love.

Yami stopped short of a movement suddenly, catching his attention and making him grin slightly in amusement. Trust the other boy to notice his own simple-minded but drastically frequent insecurity. His red eyes were glazed over but searching for something that he must have found because he relaxed a little from the alarmed state he had pushed himself into a second before.

Before the two of them had started hooking up, Yami had—on a couple of occasions—been called the school sex god whenever he was gossiped about. Most of the girls had called him that like it was some kind of code in order to keep others from understanding who they were talking about. And it was hilarious to Yugi because it had always been relatively obvious to him that he had had no sexual experience prior to him. But when you first saw him, you would think that both girls and guys would flock to him like commoners to their monarchs, because the teen held himself with such a regal aura. His back was always straight and his head was never lowered in public and his eyes were almost predatory with their constant scanning of his surroundings. His hair was spiky and black with red tips like fire, framed with goldenrod bangs that made his jaw look sharper and more mature than his age of sixteen years old, with streaks that shot through the mass of midnight in a formation almost like lightning bolts. Then there was the way that he held himself, the light golden-bronze tan that made up his skin, the regal air, how he walked, and the features that the royal blue of their school uniform highlighted. There was the sharp design of his eyes as well as the color, and the overall build of his lean form. When it came down to it, he thought that the girls were probably right. It seemed like something that most people would dream of when they were looking for a sexual partner or a boyfriend. There was really nothing about him that would turn someone off at first glance.

It was when someone actually began to get to know him that things like the attractiveness of his looks would fade. His politeness was to the point that it could be considered intimidating at times. He had a habit of pointing things out that were easily missed and sometimes it had the effect of pissing others off. You had to _wait_ for him to answer you when you asked a direct question and he didn't steadily know you and that wait could vary from a second to over five minutes and some people mistook that for him simply being rude. He was socially awkward at times, so quiet and misunderstanding towards some things due to his childhood, and it made some people think he was somewhat special.

Yugi remembered explaining to him what it meant to deep-throat an object and learning just how inexperienced he was about sex or even positions. When it came down to it, the small teen didn't think that many people would be as patient with him as he honestly needed. Not many would put up with his quiet nature or his fieriness or his darker side or even show him compassion as far as his childhood issues went. Yami also had the habit of clinging to one idea and desire, a stubbornness that could _not_ be talked down. At times he got so jealous that Yugi honestly had to look at him—just a single look—to remind him of the things that existed between them and _only_ them. And he _had_ to be one of the most infuriatingly proud people in the world, though he had a long fuse and it took a _lot_ to even _slightly_ ruffle his feathers and gain his attention. He got frustrating with how much he cared because he refused to let the smaller things go when it came to his safety.

But Yugi had a ton of flaws as well and most of them actually balanced Yami's out at times, somehow making their relationship a juggling act that was both easy but complex all at once.

He was the shortest student at Domino High. He was barely five foot two, with wild hair similar to Yami's but tipped with blue-violet to match his eyes and he lacked the amount of bangs and the streaks. His eyes were larger, rounder, with long lashes that gave him an almost childish look, set in a less mature-looking face of soft, baby-fat cheeks and paler skin. He had the sweeter appearance to him, but he gave what he was given in regards to other people.

If they decided they wanted to pick a fight with him, he fought back and would not back down until blows were thrown or—if it was Yami—things mellowed out when he went silent or escalated to the point that he was jumping his bones. He liked having attention and he would do a lot of crazy things to get it, including wardrobe choices or even yelling stupid things down the street so everyone could hear him. He often argued for the hell of it when he was bored and he got that way more often than not. He liked having others fight because it felt like they were putting effort into him. He was broken in places and he liked to force others to scrape against those shards of glass when he was angered, to see them in pain because he could.

He still wasn't very open in terms of his belief on relationships, because he thought he might always consider them to be useless and not worth the time that it would take for them to be built and eventually crumble. He was not always consistent in the emotions he showed others—he could go from hot to cold in a matter of seconds if pushed and his fuse was _extremely_ short. He liked physical violence when he was at his worst but he also knew how to harm with emotional damage as well. And, sometimes, when he was hurting badly, he _had_ to make others feel that same pain. He was hasty, he had little patience for the most part, he got nasty and mean at a second's notice, he liked to break skin and tear at insecurities.

And those things were hardly what someone else would want in their partner. But Yami seemed to like it and Yugi liked his flaws because they made him unique and fun to mess with, fun to be around, fun _to be with_. On anyone else, he would hate the jealousy but it felt good to know that Yami got frustrated and standoffish over someone paying attention to _him_ of all people.

Yugi could hardly say that it wasn't a challenge being in a relationship with him, but it was more on his side of the equation that it was Yami's. He liked to push and push until someone would give up on him. But Yami liked to make a game of it, to push him back until he found himself being pulled into him, until they were back to their usual dose of battles that were mild and normally ended with simple sex. And he was constantly checking for cracks, poking and prodding and often making his _own_ nonexistent breaks that Yami would prove wrong in a single second. At times the red-eyed teen didn't even needed to be prompted, sometimes simply taking one glance at him and knowing exactly what it was that he needed.

And though it was more often that he needed mending than it was Yami—purely because of his disbelief in relationships—there were those times that Yami needed him in return. And Yugi was happy to give him whatever it was that he needed. It could simply be an ear or shoulder, a small embrace, soft kisses and gentle touches, rougher sex, kind words or mild conversation.

Distractions, thoughts, opinions…Yami needed them all at times and Yugi was always willing to give them if he only got a clue of what he needed and when.

In all actuality, when it came down to it, Yugi doubted that many people would have understanding or compassion or patience for either of them. Their needs and their own frustrations and reactions would probably send anyone else running for the hills in a heartbeat.

"You're getting lost in your head," Yami commented lightly, not bothering to open his eyes. Yugi found himself tilting his head and admiring the pulse that ran along his neck before smirking wildly in amusement. Of course Yami knew well enough through body language to come up with that conclusion.

"Maybe just a little."

Yami didn't ask if it was good or bad because the lightness of Yugi's tone wasn't forced which meant he was thinking of something that was far from bad. Instead he turned his head to rest his cheek against the comforter with his eyes closed and his hands moving up his upper arms to squeeze lightly once before going back to his shoulders once more.

The smaller teen bit back a moan at the feel of the other's fingers on his skin, at the sensation of him welcoming him into his body as he did. He resisted a shudder at the sight of Yami's relaxed face and the gentle calmness that rested in the taller teen's muscles due to the deep-rooted trust that existed between them.

His spine tingled at the thought of it but he moved to continue his pumping, surprising himself with the sudden idea that slowly crept into the focal point of his mind. He furrowed his brows slightly, confused as to where it came from but delighted with it all the same. He didn't think that Yami would mind it. After all, it was just like fingering…

The smirk finding its way across his features, the blue-violet-eyed teen went about pressing against his prostate with his fingertips, dragging the pads of them across the small bundle of nerves. Yami arched like a cat, moaning and gripping hard as he shoulders while he managed to prod and slip it in.

It took only a moment for him to realize what it was that the smaller boy had done. His eyes snapped opened at the unfamiliar stretch and his body froze in place at the sudden intrusion, startled by the strange addition.

"Yugi…what exactly are…you doing?" he managed to breathe out, panting harshly as he stared up at him with wide red eyes, confused and frowning slightly. He opened and closed his mouth twice before glancing down again and back at the smaller teen's face.

Yugi blinked once and then shook his head, smirking as he stated, "My _own_ experiment."

He stared at him for a moment, swallowing roughly, and then nodded and lay his head back again. His head was tipped slightly so that his neck arched the tiniest bit and the smaller teen was desperate to start kissing and nibbling but pushed the impulse away. He was going to mess with Yami as much as he was messing with Yugi. Mind games and all that…

Four fingers…?

Yami couldn't help it when he found himself perching up on his elbows to sit up somewhat. His eyes were locked on Yugi's hand and he couldn't push away the impulse to swallow harshly once more. He would let him do it if he wanted to, but he couldn't fight away that small bit of fear and panic that made his stomach lurch violently like it was. He blinked at him but Yugi wasn't paying attention and Yami was more than grateful for that.

It was new and different, and normally those two words were associated with pain as far as his childhood was concerned. That was never the case with sexual ventures, but that had always been more Yugi being creative than him branching out. And the smaller teen normally made sure to mention it a few times in conversation. It was always subtle enough that Yami could almost completely overlook it before it would slowly occur to him to mention it himself. It would almost always be more of a question rather than a statement, and Yugi would admit to being curious about it.

He could name a few times—though it was more Yugi doing something to tease him and drive him out of his mind—and most of them, if not all, had been okay. The one time that Yugi decided to do something that required more than just playing around had been the sixty-nine position. Yami was extremely ashamed to admit that he had backed out almost immediately when Yugi had explained it to him. In the time that Yami had been freaking out and denying him the chance, the smaller teen had gone about making him feel better about his situation. He'd reassured him that it was fine, had distracted him until he was laughing out loud, and then had failed to bring it into conversation again afterwards at any point. He hadn't held it over his head or even tried to coax him into it, taking no as his absolute and backing off immediately again.

"Just try to stay relaxed," Yugi murmured, giving him a small concerned glance when he saw the way he was staring at him with slightly wide eyes with a gleam that bordered fearful. "Okay?"

Yami started to open his mouth to say that he wouldn't clamp up but he had no idea if he would or not and so opted for nodding once instead without taking his eyes off the other teen. Yugi gave him a small, warm, lopsided smile that clearly showed reassurance and a tiny hint of gratitude, making it clear that he was glad he trusted him enough to do this. That little bit of trust in him was so terribly alarming and overwhelming but it just proved how much he cared about him. Which Yugi was ashamed to admit scared him at the same time as it made him feel warm and so loved that it felt almost as if it were engraved in his entire being.

Yugi wasn't going to hurt him, of that much Yami was well aware. If Yugi had wanted to hurt him, he would have done so by now, instead of even going along with his little idea. He had no need to freak out at the simple _thought_ of what was going on. It honestly seemed like it should have been impossible but considering the way that they stretched when they fucked in the first place, it wasn't too surprising that it would happen. If he could stretch for an eight-inch long penis with a six-inch girth, he could stretch for Yugi's fist.

He bit his lip and then slowly wiggled his hips slightly when he looked up. Yugi was frozen in place, eyes narrowed and brows furrowed. His lips were pursed slightly and Yami thought he could see the tip of his tongue poking out at the corner of his mouth. He was caught in his head somewhere, but the movement was enough to make him look up. His eyes were still distant for a second before locking on his again and he nodded slightly, turning back to his hand as he muttered, "Just wondering about how I should do this."

Yami let out a small breath and closed his eyes momentarily, nodding. "All right."

The smaller teen had the impulse to say that if he was uncomfortable he would stop, but that was a given between the two of them. After the sixty-nine incident Yami knew without even thinking about it that he would back off if he so much as made an uncomfortable face or dissatisfied noise. Yugi had done so once before, when he had thrust a little too hard and Yami had rammed his head against the headboard and had to take a few seconds for the spots to disappear behind his eyes. He had nearly pulled away completely until Yami had threatened to give him the worst case of blue balls he had ever seen if he thought about it. So he was well aware that he had the power to make it stop at any moment. All it would take would be a gentle push to his shoulders or even just clenching his muscles, a soft noise of a whimper or even just saying his name and shaking his head.

The fingers already inside of him gently shifted from a jumbled position to a straight line. Yami hissed at the sensation, discomfort making his spine tighten. His head swam momentarily, wondering vaguely if Yugi might find _his_ reaction unsatisfying. His spine tingled, tightening harder for a split second before he forced it to release some tension. The hairs along his arms were beginning to rise the smallest bit. His teeth dug into his cheeks and blood coated his tongue. What if he did something stupid? Or what if it hurt like a bitch and he wound up a sobbing ball of limbs while Yugi was watching him and freaking out that he had harmed him?

Yami found the second scenario a small bit hilarious. He was used to being physically abused by his father growing up. But this was different. It was internal. And he didn't think external pain had much to do with the other. He doubted that they could truly compare when it came down to it. It was not like someone had bruised him up the ass before. And neither of them had experience doing this before…

"Are you okay?"

Yami blinked a few times slowly, his train of thought wrecking rather violently, and looked up with wide eyes. Yugi was watching him with a slightly concerned but more thoughtful expression, voice soft where it had mirrored it. Yami blinked again and tilted his head curiously at the words, trying to sort them out for a moment before they connected completely. "Hmm? Yes, I'm fine," he muttered after a long moment, blinking once more. "I just…got a little caught up in my head, I guess."

Yugi nodded a little, not doubting that for a second. He smiled at him, voice still soft and warm, and raised a brow playfully. "You're over-analyzing again, aren't you?"

His cheeks burned slightly and he rolled his eyes at himself, smirking when Yugi snickered softly. "Maybe just a little," he offered, voice sheepish.

"Relax for me?"

If he didn't trust him so much he would have freaked out and told him that it wasn't something that he wanted to have done. Odds were, he would have told Yugi to get the fuck out of his house for even trying this without giving him a warning. Then again, if he did not trust him, Yugi would never have made it into the house or lasted that long. He would have kicked him out _long_ before this little game had begun. And he would have known he was in the house immediately, gone after him before he could even make it to the stairs. The fact that he was so constantly around him and he loved him so much was the only reason that he had not reacted when he had come into the house in the first place.

Curiosity bit at the heels of his slight panic, forcing it to take second seat. His body very slowly began to lose its tension, more out of caution than necessity. He was naturally alarmed by the new situation, even when he knew it was nothing that he should have worried about. It was Yugi. That was all he really needed to know. His body relaxed nearly immediately now that he was looking at the smaller teen again, brought on more naturally than when he would force it when he was playing dead while being "punished". Yugi gave him a small smile of reassurance and his own lips curved up into a mirroring gesture to encourage him to keep going.

A loud, strangled noise left his mouth a split second later when Yugi's fingers moved once more. He froze in place, mouth opening and closing once, eyes wide in shock. Yami fell back against the mattress with a harsh thud, hissing as his spine tightened painfully beneath his skin. He growled out behind his teeth and clenched his eyes shut, feeling breathless despite the noise leaving him.

"Fuck, are you okay?"

Another low growl came out from behind his bared teeth and Yugi winced violently at the bite of pain underlining it all. "Just…fuck…" Yami shook his head slowly and closed his eyes. "Don't…move."

Yugi blinked once, unnerved by the pained statement, and brought his free hand to his hip. His thumb rubbed back and forth in a soothing motion, his head lowered slightly as he concentrated on trying to coax some of the tension from his muscles. The tension slowly began to relax beneath his fingers, though it refused to completely yield.

"Should I stop?"

"No." Yami sounded so sure in that moment that Yugi nearly gawked at the fact that he had still not pushed him away. He felt as if, if the situation were ever reversed, he would have pushed him away immediately, snapping and snarling and clawing at him. "Just."

The smaller teen let out a small shudder, swallowing hard. An apprehensive hiss escaped the other boy's mouth again, slow and nearly stuffy. He fought back a tremor, almost unnerved enough to just pull away completely despite Yami's statement. Maybe he had misheard him and that sureness in his voice was just something that he had imagined…

"Slow," Yami muttered, opening his eyes after a moment. His left hand reached up to grab at the soft nape of his neck, idly massaging at the heated yet rigid skin. A small bead of panicked sweat spread out under his fingertips and Yami forced himself to give him a small smile that did nothing to truly mollify his rather wounded determination to please him.

"Yami…"

He would have said something to try another attempt at mollifying him, but it was rather impossible for him to even truly consider pushing the words out of his mouth. Yugi was too visibly shaken for him to even make his lungs work for a split second. His eyes were wide and glassy, almost completely glazed over, and his entire body was frozen in place. The taller teen bit his lip momentarily, considering, and then trailed his fingers further into his hair, trying to ignore the way that Yugi's pupils had blown wide with fear.

"Just…slow. Just move slow, aibou."

Yugi flinched at the nickname, swallowing hard and lowering his eyes for a second before shaking his head and sighing softly. Yami could hear small curses under his breath, so quiet that he almost missed it.

"I'm okay." His hand moved and slid to thread itself into his soft hair, the tips of his fingers massaging once more, trying in a rather pathetic attempt to calm the shaken blue-violet-eyed teen. "Slow."

Yugi rolled his eyes but nodded slightly, voice slightly playful but flat at the same time as he grumbled, "Say that _one more_ time, Yami, and I'm going to kill you."

He snorted in laughter, throwing himself back onto the mattress once more, hand still in his hair. He pulled lightly in response and Yugi glared at him playfully before turning his attention back to his fingers. Fucking horniness. He'd slipped up, moved _far_ too fast when he went to push further inside of the teen, thrown by the moans Yami had let out, because fuck him if he wasn't being driven crazy. But it was not much of an excuse when it came down to it and it left him feeling horrible with the impact of his hastiness to fuck the other teen.

He pulled back just enough to watch him for pain or discomfort and found himself feeling slightly alleviated of his guilt. Yami had closed his eyes once more and now he looked far more relaxed, completely at ease once more. A small moan came out of his slightly parted lips, cheeks flushed and head turned to lay his cheek on the smooth comforter. The smaller teen stretched him further with his fingers, scissoring them before licking his lips and watching him more closely. No pain.

Good.

Yugi let out a small moan between his teeth, moving his left hand to struggle with the effort of adjusting himself again. It grew a little bit louder at the soft touch, ending with a hiss as his fingers accidentally ran along the vein of the underside of his throbbing erection. Yep, he was going to die if he couldn't make Yami as horny as he wanted. And he wanted him moaning and writhing and struggling to even keep his head on straight with the violent lust that just about made him scream. He would get Yami back for his idea of just fingering and then some.

Because how much fun would that be?

Yami clamped around his fingers for a moment but relaxed a second later. He pushed his folded digits further, pausing and waiting a long minute. When Yami remained as he was, he moved his hand as far as he could, and froze in place at the small, low growl that the taller teen let out behind his teeth.

"Sorry. I—"

"Stop. Stop."

"Okay. I—"

Fingers tightened and grasped at his hair, tugging a little sharply before his palm flattened out and moved to soothe the sting with gentle touches. "That's not…what I meant," he rasped out, voice low and breathy.

Yugi blinked once, his own breath coming out labored and heavy with his own desire and the drastic effect that Yami always had on him. "Then what…?" he managed to breathe out, confused and startled when he yanked on his hair violently again. He winced, giving him a small glare, and the taller teen let out a frustrated noise of a sigh.

"Yugi…do you _know_ the meaning of the word _slow_?" he bit out.

"Yes. It's the opposite of fast." A small bite of guilt made him frown at his own words, shaking his head slightly in apology when red eyes opened into a narrowed glare of pure frustration. "Sorry. I just…sorry."

The apology didn't connect at first but Yami nodded automatically anyways, not wanting to fight and just trying to make Yugi feel as if he were listening. At first the statement went in one ear and passed through the other and then they finally settled, making him nod again. He fell back against the mattress once more, eyes closed and breathing ragged as he tipped his head further, exposing his neck more so that the line of his jaw seemed sharper with the new perspective. Beads of sweat littered his skin and Yugi watched a small bit of perspiration slowly trail down his skin towards his neck and to his collarbone where it pooled in the groove of bone. Yugi licked his lips, biting his cheek with the desire to lunge forward and lap at the heated saltiness, to suck harshly on his skin until it was so red that it would be almost impossible for the blood to fall back later.

"Are you okay?"

Yugi thought momentarily that it was his own voice that had spoken the words. He blinked, unsure of why he didn't recognize himself having asked. His eyes drifted upwards and his cheeks heated momentarily, breath coming out in a low huff as he found that Yami had his head tilted to regard him curiously. "Huh?" he muttered, confused by the open concern that lined the red-eyed teen's face. "Shouldn't I be asking you that?"

"I'm fine." The hand in his hair moved to massage his scalp once more, pulling him closer so that he could press their lips together for the first time the whole day. His fingernails tapped his skin for a second to make his mouth open so that their tongues could touch briefly. Yugi immediately sprang for the idea of battling him for dominance, desperate for something and almost _anything_ to make him forget some of his nerves.

Sparks of electricity shot through him for a split second, as they always did, but the sensation was cut short when Yami pulled back abruptly. He fell back against the mattress once more, wiggling his hips for him to keep going. Yugi stared at him for a moment, at a loss as to what had just happened, and then very slowly put the pieces together again. His eyes narrowed into a small, sharp glare of annoyance and his lip curled back in frustration.

"What the _fuck_ , Yami?"

"Fingering only," he snickered, winking playfully and making him growl before rolling his eyes and licking his lips. His blood was burning in his veins now as he looked at the taller teen and his skin was tingling violently as his pulse quickened. "Slow, okay?"

" _One more time_ ," Yugi snapped. "One more _fucking_ time, Yami."

" _Slow_ ," he drawled, the word stretched out and making Yugi growl in annoyance. "Opposite of fast. _Slow_. Four letters—"

Yugi reached over and covered his mouth with his hand, glaring fiercely. "I'm really starting to fucking hate you right now."

The taller teen moved his hand away, snickering, "Hmm, you know, I would believe you… _if_ you hadn't just rubbed against me like that. He's a little excited, huh?"

" _Gods_ ," he ground out, shaking his head and looking towards where their bodies were joined in the way less satisfying than what Yugi truly wanted. He moved to press his fingers further inside of him and found himself both stunned and mortified when he realized he was truly wrist-deep inside of the other teen. Holy fucking shit…

It was so odd to look at, but drove him insane with the feel of Yami clamped around him so tightly, skin heated and making him tremble before looking at the red-eyed teen. Yami had opened his eyes into slits and was staring at him through his long lashes, shadows cast over his gaze to leave it smoldering and dark. Yugi swore under his breath, swallowing hard at the sight; this was one of those moments that always threatened to make him fall over the edge far too soon.

Every time they had sex and he topped and he was close to or actually done with preparations, one glance at Yami was enough to nearly send him drowning and spiraling out of control. His cheeks would be flushed. His forehead would be peppered with small beads of sweat. His red eyes would be hooded. His hair would be in a more pronounced disarray from his usual loss of patience and love of prep that made him buck against his fingers until he was mewling and his prostate was well abused from it all.

Yugi swallowed a mouthful of saliva that almost threatened to drown him. "You okay?"

Yami nearly rolled his eyes in the back of his head but managed to nod instead, licking his lips. He reached his hand from Yugi's shoulder and the back of his head to loop them around his neck.

"What's it feel like?"

Yami started to moan out "So full, so fucking _full_ " but stopped short suddenly, eyes opening wide as he stared at him. He fought away the impulse to jerk his hips violently to buck wildly. Instead he swallowed thickly, staring at him with a slightly dazed expression, and managed to draw in a deep breath. "I'll show you some time," he managed to hiss out in a ragged breath that had Yugi moaning between his teeth.

His spine arched and pleasure coursed through him like a rocket, too sudden for him to truly react to the sensation. His eyes had grown wide and dilated immensely and his heart was beginning to pound violently within his chest. Holy fucking shit, what was that? Yugi had not even _moved_ and yet his whole body was throbbing with a pulse more powerful than the one that normally existed between them.

Holy fucking…

Yami arched and moaned, scrabbling and digging his nails into his skin. He threw his head back and Yugi breathing hard, panting at the sensation of Yami clamping around him momentarily and then releasing just as quickly. His neck was fully exposed now and the smaller teen felt his mouth watering with desire. If he could just latch himself to his neck and Yami was done with having his fun with this experiment, this would be _perfect_.

Yugi started to pull his wrist out somewhat but stopped at the last second. Yami was clenching his jaw now and the smaller teen felt his stomach drop with concern. Either he had moved far too fast for the other boy or he had pulled too far back. But fuck, it was the first time they were doing something even remotely like this. He had no true idea exactly what he was doing or how he was going to keep as cautious as he would have otherwise. He didn't know how to keep from hurting him like he did other times. The most he could do with this situation was watch his face and keep his eyes on him completely.

"Ra," Yami spat out in a harsh moan, voice dripping with pleasure. Yugi felt his legs throbbing, pants so tight that it was impossible for him to keep from feeling that terrible, unbearable, pleasurable pain. Gods, how the fuck was this even…?

The feeling of being so full was going to kill him.

Yami struggled to force words out of his mouth. He threw his head back to expose his neck once more to the blue-violet-eyed teen. His body was shaking and his grip was weak. The smaller teen trembled at the sensation just as the other boy began to quake with the force of the experience.

"I can't…"

Yugi moaned softly, breathing out, "What?"

"I…Please…Yugi…"

"What?" he asked, stiffening. Was he hurting him?

Yami struggled again, this time putting more energy into the attempt. His nails sunk violently into his shoulders and he moved to pull himself closer. His right arm moved to wrap around his neck and his face came to bury itself into the hollow of it. His voice was low and shaky but came out in a growl all the same.

"Yugi, Yugi…please…"

"Does it hurt or…? Yami, I—"

"Too much…" His teeth scraped against the hollow of his neck, nipping harshly twice as he growled out, "Too much."

Yugi instantly worried that he was hurting him once more. His mind sprang with the idea that his nails had cut his skin and he was bleeding somewhere. Then it circulated violently until his thoughts became something of a color wheel spinning so quickly that they all blurred together in his mind's eye. Finally his ears seemed to connect the sound of Yami's voice with the motions his body was going through. The taller teen was squirming and grasping at him tightly, breathing hard and letting out hisses of pleasure. His voice was folding into desperate pleas of "Too much" that spoke far more of pleasure than they did anything remotely like pain. The realization made him freeze for a split second, eyes wide, and then his lips curled back into a grin and he laughed breathlessly, stupefied by it all.

"Okay, okay, stay still," he snickered, moving his free hand to grasp at his hips. He had the momentary impulse to throw his head back and laugh, enjoying the sensation of Yami writhing and squirming and struggling against his hand. He thought any moment now that the other teen would fall back again, unable to keep himself upright any longer. He was perched against him so desperately and the sensation was so beautiful that Yugi truly struggled with the idea to push the impulse away.

His mouth fell open, a low moan bubbling out as Yami's erection pressed into his stomach through his shirt. Pre-cum leaked against the cotton material, causing him to squirm uncomfortably in response, but when the taller teen shuddered his body reacted unconsciously. He bucked, spine arching and body warming with pleasure as their erections rubbed together through his jeans. Nails sank into his skin, pulling at his shirt and leaving long lines of pink, and he bucked in response, squeezing him tightly and making his mouth fall open in a pleased noise bordering a scream.

"Yugi…"

Teeth clamped into his throat, pulling lightly at the skin and making him tremble. His pleasure was skyrocketing, winding him for a split second as he breathed in hard and panted once. "Okay," he hissed, desperate for more, and nearly whined when the other boy unconsciously clenched around him again. "Just—g-give me a second. I…fuck, I can't…"

"Slow," Yami reminded him so softly that he barely heard it. The word came out hot and misty against his throat, making him tremble once more.

He nearly laughed at the statement but managed to throw the red-eyed teen onto his back instead. He leaned over him, hissing in pain when Yami threw his head back and moaned. For a moment he was unable to do more than breathe hard and swear under his breath in frustration, but then leaned further into him. His cheek pressed against the other boy's, he could gauge better how much pain he was in. It took what felt like forever to fully be able to pull his hand out, allowing him the chance to breathe in relief before starting to sit back on his haunches. But his attempt to sit all the way back was stopped abruptly.

Nails were digging into his wrist, holding his arm there, and he could hear ragged panting as he grew rigid with confusion.

"What?" he demanded. Fuck, was he hurting him again?

"Three…four…please…"

For what felt like hours the words made no sense in his head. He blinked stupidly, unable to do more than stare at his boyfriend. He opened and closed his mouth, unsure of what else he could do, and then froze. "O-oh!" he breathed out, startled and wide-eyed before laughing softly. His free hand gripped his hip, pushing him there to pin him down, and he smiled in amusement as he pulled his pinky away.

"You okay?"

Yami nodded after a moment, looking tired but aroused out of his mind.

"Did it hurt?"

A breathless shake of his head made Yugi grin lopsidedly, mirroring his movements as those red eyes opened into a hooded expression. He was breathing hard, nearly trembling, as if wracked with aftershocks, and the smaller teen raised a brow.

"Want to do it again?"

Yami very nearly nodded at him, feeling almost compelled to agree for another round of it. But then he slowly shook his head and let out a deep breath, unable to fight the way his body rebelled at the very thought. It was pleasurable, but so powerful in sensation that it almost hurt, and so full that he could not suppress the urge to tremble at the mere thought of it again. He didn't want to feel like that again—at least not any time soon. It was just far too much for him. "I'll do it for you sometime," he muttered instead, so quietly that the smaller teen almost did not catch it. He frowned faintly, still concerned that perhaps he was hurt and refused to tell him as to shield his feelings.

He was curious when he immediately considered it, but decided not to press the issue. Instead he pumped his fingers and watched the other boy purr and buck against his fingers in clear pleasure. After a moment, his arms rose again, wrapping around his neck comfortably as he had before. "Hmm, maybe," he replied, desperate to reach out and nip at his skin or kiss him until he was breathless as usually did.

Ice cold minty dark chocolate…

Yugi nearly leaped at his mouth in that moment, desperate to taste him again. But instead he watched as Yami continued bucking, exhausted and flushed in expression but still clearly hornier than he had been beforehand.

It was impossible to avoid any longer. He was listening to his breathless moans and feeling the terrible strain of his erection against his jeans was driving him crazy. He undid the fly, moaning in clear pleasure of being freed, and snuck his hand into his pants. Yami bucked against his fingers, hissing and writhing, and Yugi melted into the sensation of him clenching once more. For a moment he reveled in the sensation, but it was short-lived as he moved his other hand in a rough flick of his wrist. Hands encircled his wrist abruptly, with enough force to make his eyes snap open in shock, and he blinked as he saw the other boy. He was panting raggedly, but he had managed to stop all of his enraptured movements to grasp his skin.

"Uh-uh. No touching."

"What?" he cried, nearly laughing. "You can't be serious!"

Yami tried to fight back the intense pleasure the touch to his prostate brought and failed, but just barely managed to keep away the arch of his back. "Completely," he growled through his teeth, tightening his grip on his wrist.

"How unfair is that?" Yugi objected, huffing and then laughing out loud. The other boy twitched and squirmed as he continued to move his hand. He was heavily tempted to move his hand again, but his hands tightened again, momentarily snatching at his sense of focus on his problem. "Fine then. Are you at _least_ going to let me kiss you now or—?"

His hands were shaking when he moved them up his arm, gripping so loosely that he almost could not fully feel it. For a moment he was confused as his fingers pressed against his chest so lightly it felt like nothing more than if he had passed through a cobweb while walking. The weight of his fingers turned into both hands being pressed firmly against his shirt and then pushing on his chest almost violently. He went toppling over onto his back from the force of it, stunned by the sudden reaction. At first, immediately, he thought maybe he really had hurt him somehow and he was reacting to it in turn. But then the other boy's purr came to his ear and for a moment he was frozen before he pulled away and off his hand completely. Slender digits dug at his jeans, pulling them down roughly so that his leaking erection was hit but a blast of freezing cold air. He hissed, displeased with it, and then cried out faintly in surprise as Yami engulfed him abruptly.

A mirroring long moan came to his ears as he reached his left hand up to sink his teeth into his knuckles. The taller teen was laughing, shifting his hips only once to find his balance. Then a rapid, wild bouncing rhythm came over him, Yugi arching in delight and nearly screaming with pleasure as he thrust into him.

"Holy fucking _Ra_ ," Yugi moaned, throwing his head back harshly against the mattress. He pulled his hand away to grasp at his skin hard with his nails. He dug them into his flesh and felt Yami's shoulder blades move beneath the pads of his fingers.

"Looks like I've been rubbing off on you," Yami teased breathlessly, making him snort in amusement even as a small bit of his cheeks turned a soft pink in blush. He could name a million different ways in which the other teen had rubbed off on him, but didn't speak the words. Instead he reached up to wrap his arms around his neck, causing him to lean forward further to accommodate him. His hands moved to grip his left hip and the right side of his ribcage and did not once break his pace.

"So…much…work!"

Yugi burst out laughing, the noise breathless but still full of amusement. The taller teen grinned in pleasure, stretching out just enough to kiss his forehead. The blue-violet-eyed teen purred and moaned at the sensation of his breath fanning over his heated skin. The sweat was building up under his pores, desperate to seep out, but he felt as if his body was too tired and excited for that.

"Yugi."

He opened his mouth just enough to breathe out a response, but his lungs were too empty to form the words. It took him a moment, trembling and breathless still, to realize that there was no need for him to respond. His name continued crawling through the air, a breathless prayer of warm affection.

"Yugi, Yugi, Yugi, Yugi…"

The small teen melted into the feeling of Yami moving around him, of his hands against his skin, into the way his name seemed to part the air and leave him hungry for more. Dear gods, how he loved this boy.

"Darkness…"

It was his nickname, the English meaning of his name, and something that he had chosen to call him in response to his own dub of being Yami's "little one". But it was one of the things that most often left his mouth while they made love. It passed through his lips at times such as when he worked himself into such a stress that he was fearful he would collapse from his hurried pacing.

Yugi purred in pleasure and amusement. Yami continued shamelessly rocking, rising and falling too fast for him to truly keep up with. They moaned and hissed together, the taller mewling as his prostrate was struck relentlessly. It took a moment as the smaller teen moaned and scraped his nails over his spine to make him writhe at his touch. A quick tilt and spin came with a sudden and abrupt roll.

"Fuck yes," Yugi moaned, allowing Yami to pull his face to his. Their lips were wild and unrestrained, hands grasping and moving into each other's hair. Fingers tugged lightly at soft strands, then pulled harsher to make Yugi move faster and harder.

He would honestly _never_ grow tired of the taste of Yami in his mouth. The sharp iciness of mint and dark chocolate made his head spin and his heart pound each time. It made him feel weak at the absolute best of times. Gods, he could _drown_ in it and he would never care to come up for air again. Because _fuck_ air if he could live off the other boy for the rest of his life and—

"Oh _hell_ to the fuck _no_ ," he snarled against his nips as the taller boy started to pull back slightly. He kept their mouths inches apart, swallowing his laughter heartily. "You've been fucking teasing me and driving me insane this _entire time_. I will fucking _kiss you if I want_!"

The taller teen cracked up because he _knew_ how much Yugi loved his mouth. When he spoke, both of them knew that more than half the time he would be caught staring at his lips. Someone else would have assumed he was constantly picturing lewd fantasies of his mouth engulfing him or thinking about making out with him until his lips were swollen. But, when it had become apparent that Yugi had been able to keep up with any conversation they had even while staring, he had come to realize he just liked watching his mouth because he liked the sound of his voice. Every now and then he would be reminded of just how warm and soft and great his lips were, but most times he just liked the way his lips moved to form words. He got distracted because he loved the little brat inside of him, loved the way he made his limbs feel weak at times, because despite the way they still tended to hurt each other with words that cut too deep, he loved him so much that it _hurt_ and he was willing to do anything with or for him if he asked.

"Need to breathe sometimes," he countered, laughing when Yugi shook his head wildly.

"Fuck you. You get _no_ breathing privileges! Besides, you can go ten _minutes_ without breathing."

"But you can't."

"We'll see about that now, won't we?"

Yami was still laughing when Yugi pressed his lips to his again. His tongue worked into his mouth and he moaned at the gentle vibration of his laughter as they brushed against each other. Hands grasped to the point of bruising his hips and he laughed harder, loving how much he could get under the other teen's skin like this. It was always fun to see the way that he affected him, no matter the way it went about happening, in a verbal spat or kisses or sex.

A particularly hard thrust made him moan, biting at the smaller teen's tongue. He squeezed his hip harder and released a second later, moving his hand to steady himself with his palm at his side. The smaller teen was becoming lightheaded, Yami knew that much, which made him laugh that much harder. He was finally forced to pull away, glaring as he drew in desperate pants for air, having to stop his thrusts for a moment.

"Fucking asshole."

The taller teen snickered and shook his head. His hands trailed from his chest to his shoulders, arms wrapping around his neck as his red eyes shone with amusement. "I can't even _begin_ to describe how hot you are when you're—"

"Oh fuck you," Yugi sniped, biting his lip to keep from laughing. "Don't even start with flattery. We're already in position."

Yami threw his head back, laughing until he and the bed were shaking together. He struggled not but wound up joining in after a few minutes, shaking his head and pressing a small kiss to his cheek. The taller teen's eyes fluttered, lashes tickling his skin, and the grip around his neck tightened momentarily before slowly settling more comfortably.

"I hate you," he muttered, the words fond and full of affection.

"Aw, but I love _you_ ," he snorted, his voice coming out sing-song.

"You had better, you asshole."

Yami laughed again but didn't bother trying to defend himself, instead moving to kiss along his jaw as a sloppy thrust sent him into another bout of laughter.

"Fuck. Shut up, damn it!" Yugi cried, laughing harder at the delight in the other's bright eyes. He glared at him briefly, smirking and pressing butterfly kisses to his neck. The other teen was moving with him, receiving each of his thrusts with small squirms and gentle mewls. He pulled back enough to balance his weight more comfortably as he began to thrust a little faster. Abruptly Yami's hand rose and the long digits snagged around his choker, tugging gently but effectively to press his face into the hollow of his throat once more. "Yami!"

"Okay, _okay_!" he relented, rolling his eyes and starting to pull away. The smaller teen was just about to maneuver his weight enough to angle his hips when he was tugged back down. He growled playfully but silenced as Yami pecked his cheek and then burst out laughing at his petulant expression. "Last time—I promise!"

"Last time, _my ass_!" the smaller grumbled, glaring playfully before rolling his eyes. "You're all touchy-feely today. I'm not sure I like it."

Yami rolled his eyes. "Uh-huh." He wiggled his hips and the smaller teen let out a moan. "You fucking love it."

"…Says you," he snapped, blushing when he realized how stupid a response that was.

"Appallingly pathetic."

"At least I'm not a liar."

He burst out laughing again when the other boy's mouthed opened in a mocking gasp.

"How _rude_."

The smaller teen moved his mouth to his neck, lips warm and soft and swollen from their kisses moments before. He latched them to the point where his jaw bone was most prominent in its sharper design, sucking and watching Yami arch his back with a moan that made him purr against his skin.

"…Running from…the…truth…?" Yami gasped out, eyes nearly rolling up in the back of his head as Yugi fell back into a rhythm that was slowly growing faster and harder in the thrusts that sent him on the verge of spiraling downwards. "Oh _Ra_ …Fuck…"

He laughed hard against his skin, pulling back only when he was satisfied. His lips pulled into a wide smirk, watching the breathless boy who stared up at him with hooded eyes and exhaled in small huffs, cheeks impossibly flushed. "Now, if you could just hush a little, I would _like_ to go back to ravaging your mouth and fucking you senseless."

He opened his mouth to scoff but mumbled, "Ravage away" with a dismissive flick of his wrist. He stayed quiet for a moment and then, thoughtful, he muttered, "Do you think your ass can go numb?"

Yugi stared at him as if he had lost his mind for a moment. "What?"

"Let's see if you can do that," he snickered, licking his lips.

"Oh fucking…Good. Let's do it then."

"Okay. But I _fully_ expect my mouth to be ravaged, thank you."

He would have snorted and said no but there was no chance in hell that he would pass up the opportunity. He had been dying to kiss him all day, fucking aside, and he planned to abuse his mouth as much as possible while he was still playing seme.

But first he would tease him like he had done him. His mouth moved to his neck, running his tongue along the column of it before wetting his lips and pressing small butterfly kisses to his collarbone. His lips folded around his flesh, sucking gently until he moaned loudly and scratched his back to make the skin sting and rise up in long lines of bright pink. The force behind it was just barely restrained enough to resist breaking his skin, making him smile at the thought of how mindful he was about harming him.

His fingers tightened to bruise his hips violently as he thrust harder and faster. The bed creaked loudly beneath them and Yami growled softly at the jerking motion that came with it. His mouth opened and Yugi's name spilled out quietly for a few minutes before his mouth was covered with his again.

He vaguely thought of the four reasons he had given him over the phone when he said he was coming over to his house after getting home.

He had to admit that he had been rather surprised to find him still awake considering the time. It was three-thirty in the morning, his bedroom light was the only one on, he was seated reading in his bed, obviously exhausted but still full of energy as he waited for him. It was almost like a porno plot. The long-awaiting wife or girlfriend or _whoever_ would be on the bed, reading a book, waiting on their husband or boyfriend or _whoever_ to come up the stairs and ravage them. Yugi blinked and then wrinkled his nose. Pornos didn't _have_ plots, he remembered. It was more like…a _romance novel_. He nearly burst out laughing, snorting and then swallowing the guffaws that threatened to bubble out of him immediately after; Yami raised a brow at him in surprise but relaxed when he shook his head in response.

Still, regardless of how much it reminded him momentarily of a stupid scene from a romance novel, he was almost two hundred percent sure that another person would not have done the same thing. And, when he was taken into consideration, he thought it impossible to consider anyone else doing it. Even more so with the knowledge that he was getting in at almost four, and one of them was usually at the other's house regardless. If they got hot and bothered in the middle of the night all they really had to do was roll over and coerce the other awake with kisses and gentle touches. It was always enough to arouse the other even in their groggy state. But it was even more admirable when he considered that he had just spent two weeks with a girl who had been in love with him for several years _and_ had formerly caused problems between the two of them. That was without adding to the fact that he had once considered himself straight. And that didn't even take into consideration the fact that he had crushed on the same girl for _years_.

But he knew that Yami must have trusted him enough not to assume things. Unlike someone else, the other boy had placed his trust in him enough not to even worry when a late-night phone call failed to happen. He didn't blow up his phone if he missed a message assuming he was running off with someone else. With the way their relationship had begun, he was more often surprised by that than anything else—Yugi had insisted that he had other fuck buddies and Yami had always been extremely jealous of the idea. When he had actually admitted it, the other teen had been slightly thrown but not as furious as he could have been. He had not decided to throw him out on his ass as he could have or just to cut him out of his life completely. If anything, he had taken it in stride as he did everything else, and had decided that despite their rocky beginning, he would trust him to stay faithful even with the two weeks apart.

But he realized, regardless, that Yami would have been pissed off should he have messed around with someone else, but would have still wanted to work it out with him. He would not have kicked him out the moment he set foot in his house, would have spoken to him around clenched teeth in that cold, quiet voice he sometimes got when he was frustrated. He would not have harmed him, however, and the most that would have happened that would have been negative was either telling him to leave from frustration or a verbal spat that would go on for hours.

The idea was both horrifying and amazing. It was terrifying to consider in all actuality. Because he did not think he would be able to do the same or even that he was worth that kind of thing. The effort that would have been put into it—into trying to rekindle their relationship and attempting to mend the damage done by the infidelity around the recurring images of what he might have pictured that other person to look like—would be agonizing. It would be terrible and painful, with enough power to cripple someone, and that was not something that Yugi thought himself capable of.

He was, without a shadow of doubt, thankful that it had never even been considered during the two weeks he had been in the states. Not once had he even looked at someone and thought they would be nice to spend the night with, his mind more focused on the idea of phone or video sex with his boyfriend. Even when Rebecca mentioned it and pointed out someone hot enough to make him at least turn his head, he had not been truly interested. Having Yami around him, having him waiting at the house for him, had been enough of a reassurance that he had not even thought of it or cared enough to question it.

In fact, even with the time difference and the somewhat lacking communication, he had not found himself worried about his relationship at all aside from the Monopoly incident. Beyond that, he had not been worried about anything concerning it, more thoughtful about what they might be able to do as a couple, maybe what restaurants Yami might like if he ever _could_ find enough courage to ask him out. That was an entirely different matter, however, one that he refused to acknowledge for the moment.

But, as he looked him over, he felt realization slowly dawning on him. All the rejections for phone sex despite the numerous phrases whispered in his ears, the low throaty tones, or the little naughty things he listed off as wanting to do to him now made sense.

Yami had gotten just as bored and frustrated as him, probably more so with only phone calls. And the lack of indulgence had made it and him _that_ much more desirable to the smaller teen.

"You're a goddamn mind fuck, aren't you?" Yugi muttered suddenly, under his breath.

"I…what?" Yami managed to breathe out, eyes widening as he looked at him in confusion. A mewl of pleasure left his lips, causing the blue-violet eyes to immediately drop to them, blinking once in surprise.

"Fucking mind terrorist," he accused, glaring. "You set this shit up, didn't you?"

He blinked once, the movement long and slow, feigning innocence. But Yugi found himself glaring as the other teen looked at him. He was staring from beneath his long lashes with a predatory gleam that made his heart pound faster and the coil announcing his oncoming orgasm tighten that much more.

"You fucking tease…"

Yami snickered in amusement and Yugi found himself laughing when he saw the way that the taller teen licked his lips and winked playfully. His red eyes were bright with a teasing pushiness as he bucked against him shamelessly.

A strangled noise rose up in the back of his throat but he couldn't quite get over the awe of the situation; the fucking minx the red-eyed teen was. Holy. Fucking. Shit.

"Gods, I fucking love you right now," he muttered.

Yami fell back into soft snickers, moving his hands to lightly grip at his elbows. He squeezed once as he rocked forward again in a slower thrust that he planned to play with until he was all but begging him for more. Because _fuck him_ if he thought he could just mess around with him like that.

Oh yeah, he was so going to get this fucker back.

Yami wanted a numb ass? Yugi would give it to him. And in such a way that he would never want to feel it again.

Because _no one_ got away with making him _that_ crazy. _No_. _One_.

He moved to press his lips against his and snorted at the noise of loss that slipped from the back of the taller teen's throat when he did not kiss. He bypassed his mouth altogether to go for the hair in front of his ear, breathing in deeply. He could drown in the scent the other boy possessed, something he could only explain as ice and pine and moonlight, drawn out to be sharper by his sweat. It was a strange description, he knew, but it was all he could come up with. If he was not fresh out of the shower, then that scent stayed with him but otherwise he smelled of mint from his shampoo and the sharper bite of his soap.

Yugi was glad that the two smells were rather mellow today. Somewhere in his gut he realized that Yami had done this on purpose. He had given him the most subtle of welcome-home gifts in doing so, something that he knew he loved almost more than even when he bottomed for him. He loved him for it, but he would not allow it to save him from his wrath. Not. At. All.

He moved his nose to the crook of his neck, hearing Yami smack his lips in a sound of disappointment and frustration. He could not find it in himself to draw this out longer than was possible. His idea of teasing him until he could not stand it anymore would have to happen some other time. Because trying now would only result in him losing his own mind, something that he was rapidly finding happening already. Two weeks was _far_ too long, in all honesty. Half the time he thought two _hours_ was far too much at times as it was.

Yami, thankfully, was not one for a constant fight for dominance, instead letting it fall for equality between them. However, when he fell into a mood, he could be so dominating that it would make Yugi quiver like a plucked bowstring as his heart rattled in his chest and his blood pounded in his ears. He could nearly force him to come in his pants immediately if he gave him the right look while in that state, and sometimes he swore Yami knew about it himself. So when their lips met, he was ready and waiting, arms moving to snake around him and splay his fingers wide against his back as their tongues danced together. He would let the smaller teen control the kiss but he would make it known what he wanted, opening his mouth in an invitation he had no desire to pass up.

The moan bubbled up and made his tongue quiver against his. Yugi let out a mirroring one of his own, the other teen swallowing it almost greedily. He moved to drag his nails over his skin when he flexed his fingers and drew them into fists against his flesh. A shudder rolled through the taller teen and Yugi mentally smirked at the feeling. His tongue worked at the smooth backs of Yami's perfect white teeth, licking all the way along the palate of his mouth. It enticed several more shivers, making Yami's fingers flex and twitch over his shoulder blades.

If he did this right, he could make Yami's voice penetrate his body just as deeply as he was doing to him at the moment, if not _deeper_. If he did it right, Yami's voice was shake him to his very core and kill him softly, leaving him reeling and hungry and desperate for more.

He threaded his hand through his baby soft, fine hair and grasped hard. It tugged but did not inflict any pain, the movement just sharp enough to get his attention because he needed it completely. A noise of acknowledgment, Yami telling him that he was listening if that was what he wanted, bubbled up into their mouths to be swallowed almost immediately. The smaller teen tangled his tongue with the other boy's and moved to situate the hand in his hair on his abs. He reveled in the way the bunches of muscle rolled beneath his touch with every buck he made or thrust Yugi gave.

He broke the kiss with a deep click of their teeth, an awkward accidental graze from his sudden movement, the hastiness of it too much to truly give either of them time to prepare to disengage. Yami let out a small growl of a noise and Yugi snorted in response, moving and tilting his head so that their foreheads pressed together. His palm traveled up to his chest and back again, humming at the feel of his muscles twitching and writhing in time with the gossamer touch of his heated skin.

He forced the sound of their skin slapping with every thrust to a low background noise, focusing entirely on getting the pitch, the words, the voice he wanted. It was something he needed, more than anything. He would get it, because he wanted and craved it. And he always tended to get what he wanted.

Especially when it came to Yami.

Work or not.

Of course…that would apparently be with orgasms aside.

He huffed and Yami burst out laughing. He exposed his neck more when he threw his head back and Yugi glowered with a pout. His blue-violet eyes were far from amused as he pursed his lips and then huffed, "Shut up, Yami! I didn't laugh at you when you came early!"

"I'm only laughing because that's the third time and you never even noticed!"

The smaller teen blinked once and found himself blushing furiously, stunned and mortified by the very idea. He really had not even noticed. But Yami…he realized, blinking wide eyes, had not come at all. What was wrong with…?

"Are you wearing a ring?" he demanded, twisting to see if the other teen had one. However, the familiar sight of his naked erection was what greeted him, beautiful as always. Yami had burst out laughing harder at his surprised expression as he turned back to him. "Then how the _fuck_ …? I mean, you don't…and I haven't…Did you hire a stripper or something?"

Yami wrinkled his nose in avid disgust. "That's revolting and I'm insulted you would assume such a thing," he ground out from between his teeth, red eyes flashing with clear disdain towards the very idea. Yugi almost began to argue that it was normal, that sometimes that's what happened when a couple was apart. He wouldn't even blame him had that been case. As long as he was okay and it might have helped him, he supposed, though he would not deny it would hurt him far more than his simple fling with Mai had before they had gotten together. But then the reality of their relationship and the circumstances of the situation began to filter back into his mind, the simple name bringing them full force before him. Yami had grown up so differently from him, to the point that Yugi was almost horrified that he had forgotten this small detail. "No, I just want a _reason_ to do it."

"And _fisting_ didn't throw you over the edge?"

He barely managed to refrain from saying _why_. "No."

"Huh." Yugi moved to snap his hips and Yami let out a small, sharp growl of his name, the noise making his nerve endings pulse with something akin electricity. "Aw, for fuck's sake, _again_?!"

Yami burst out laughing again, the noise breathless but loud and Yugi found himself snickering in response. First it was a sneer of a noise that made the other crack up harder and then it mellowed into its usual affectionate timbre. He could not keep up his fake indignation. And he thanked the gods that Yami respected him enough not to be rude about it.

"What the _fuck_?" Yugi complained, rolling his eyes and shaking his head. The deep throaty rasp of laughter which came from Yami made him harden even faster. It was not hard to do with the way he was still inside of him and Yami still had yet to do much more than laugh, but it still happened. And thankfully the laughter was not aimed directly at him, more towards his obliviousness, to which even he liked to laugh. If Yami were to be a total douche about it like others might take the opportunity to be, he thought he might have lost it. It would have been one of those rare things that would have made him leave without a second thought. But it wasn't even _his_ fault that it kept happening—it was totally Yami's.

Fucking asshole. Making him come early.

…Such a fucking asshole.

"Yami, this is not funny. How the fuck are you doing that?"

"I'm surprised you haven't noticed yet," he snorted, moving to kiss at his temple and giving him a clear show of something that he had noticed but not truly taken to mind, eyes widening. The other teen had been putting his chin to his chest at odd moments, seemingly randomly, with no pattern to decipher. But he make the connection now that it had been most often when he was…

"PC muscles," he ground out, narrowing his eyes into a glare of annoyance as his lips twitched in a furious smirk. "What the actual _fuck_ , Yami?"

"Just testing them out," he laughed.

"Son of a bitch."

Yami moved to grab his hair and pull him down some to whisper in his ear. "Promescent," his voice purred in a sultry tone, a mere wisp of noise in his eardrum. He blinked and struggled to understand before his mouth fell open and his eyes grew wide.

"You really fucking prepared for this shit, didn't you?" he spat, rolling his eyes and huffing softly. But there was no denying that the sentiment was actually somewhat sweet. It was the fact that he was willing to go through so much just to make sure he enjoyed his time with him the first night he had come home that made the irritation melt away. "Medication _and_ muscle memory. How _lovely_. You sneaky little shit."

"I am, I am," Yami agreed, singing the words in his ear before laying his head back and closing his eyes briefly. "I refuse to come before you ravage my mouth and make my ass numb. I have _standards_."

"You're a fucking dick," Yugi laughed, unable to hide the delight in his voice. "Standards my ass. You're just a fucking _dick_."

"Well, let's hope I'm large and rigid and waiting."

Yugi swallowed away a moan in the back of his throat. He rolled his eyes affectionately, amused. The good thing about sex with Yami occurring so often was that he had much more stamina than most could boast. Orgasms could wind him, yes, but he also knew how to breathe in a way that did not impact his…performance, he supposed. Deep breaths helped keep him from becoming too exhausted. It was a good thing to know as Yami got impatient and pushy at times when he bottomed and Yugi grew too tired. The taller teen was insatiable at times, so it was not uncommon for him to get tired and have Yami flip them over to continue until he couldn't anymore.

It had been a long while since that had happened. He had found he could keep up as long as he was not distracted by one thing or another. It really only happened when Yami did not get around to doing something all day. When he did not get out or having something around the house to do, he always acted like a coil of energy when they got together again and they did so extremely often. The longest they had gone since getting together would have to have been the two weeks in which he was in America.

Otherwise one of them was at the other's house almost every day. It did not always turn into sex, but it did more often than not, because both of them liked the connection that existed between them in such moments.

Yugi liked the connection between when they were not trapped under the covers as well but he liked giving and receiving pleasure from the other boy. And he loved more than anything when they came at the same time, something that happened almost every time. He liked the noises, the whispers, Yami's voice curling in his eardrums. He liked how Yami's body responded to his, the arch of his back, the feel of wandering fingers. He liked the tightened grips, the loose hands, of the spiral which sent them both into deep sleeps later that were only interrupted by the sun or the other waking horny and desperate for more.

"You're a constant boner," he stated simply, amused and finding himself wanting to purr at the thought for a brief second. He snapped his hips and Yami moaned softly as he attempted to create a faster rhythm that would not tire himself out. "Question."

"Answer."

Yugi rolled his eyes; smartass. "So, if you took that Promescent thing and have PC muscle control going for you…?"

"I find it hilarious that you're worried about my flow rather than getting me to the point that I can't stop myself."

A small blush crossed his cheeks and he found himself glowering as he looked as the other boy, but there was no argument he could come up with. He was asking about it, after all, just as Yami had pointed out. Yugi shook his head and moved to suck on his neck once before bringing his face back to Yami's. Their mouths pressed together and his breath came out in a harsh gust from his nose as he worked to keep his tongue tied with the other teen. It was yet another good thing about his breathing. He could actually manage it around kissing if he concentrated enough, though it was tiring at times to attempt and Yami was not one to rush him so it worked well for both of them.

A hand moved to caress his jaw and the small teen trembled. His muscles twitched beneath his skin, heart pounding and flesh burning, an intense familiarity which came with the red-eyed boy's gentle touch. Fingers traced his face slowly and a tremble passed through them when he thrust a little too hard, egged on but knowing the limitations of the way they moved together. He did not want to hurt him and he could _easily_ do that if he wasn't careful. Maybe if they used lubricant it would be easier to push until Yami all but shattered but dry was always more fulfilling. Being able to feel him wrapped around him so tightly and the actual _permission_ to come inside of him without hesitation was beyond beautiful. It was such a powerful gift, no matter how many times they shared it between the two of them. Yami was, of course, slicked up with his earlier orgasms, but he still could not move as fast as he could have had he coated them both completely.

Yugi shook the thought off to caress his body with his fingertips, drawing the outline of his slender form and slim hips. The most subtle of curves greeted his fingers there, something he loved almost as much as he did everything else with the taller teen. The sensation was all too familiar and yet somehow it was always new each time their skin touched in even the most subtle of ways. He had already had his body beneath his a million times, moving under him, hands exploring his back, but the reality was that it was just as perfect the fifty millionth time as it was the first.

The deep throaty moans set the rhythm as they always did, the smaller teen repeating actions that Yami liked over and over until his moan was all but a long hoarse noise in the air. Then it would, beautifully, reverberate throughout his entire frame when he swallowed it whole.

Yugi only pulled his mouth away from the other's in order to lean his body back and settle on his knees with his left hand settled on his somewhat muscular torso. His right gripped his hip with a light and gentle bruising force, watching with a wild satisfaction as he moved in and out of him. With his head tilted slightly and Yami's hips raised at a slight angle, he could clearly watch himself there, where they were joined together. How odd was it that he _loved_ the sight of it?

Then again, he was pretty sure in all those stupid books where a sex scene happened, the guy _always_ loved to see where his skin was attached to his…lay's. Yugi did not ever think much of it but that he suspected more often than not it was because he liked the sight of his conquering more than anything else. And he could not call them partners or significant others or even spouses, as the only book he had ever read with a sex scene had almost been enough to put him off before meeting up with Yami. It had been a random hookup that lasted all of a page and then led completely into the almost unrealistic array of his sexual fantasies immediately after. And Yami had been thoroughly confused, wondering as to why he had such repulsion towards each bit of media with even the slightest hint towards such a situation.

Whenever he read or watched such things, it made him feel sick and horrible and overall disgusting rather than hot and bothered as it should have. His thoughts of relationships crumbled hideously, immediately, into nothing but piles of dust and ash. And then he would see Yami again and things would begin to build up beneath the surface, infuriating as they itched at his consciousness. They would linger for days, sometimes weeks, maybe even a month if he ever considered it that long, until they would finally fall away completely with the comfort of the older teen around him.

He allowed his eyes to flicker towards Yami once more, licking his lips as he saw the red-eyed teen toss his head to the side. A long, breathy sigh left his mouth as he settled more comfortably against the pillow, and the smaller boy recognized it immediately. Yami was getting tired, and that was the one noise he always let out when he was exhausted like that. He knew it from the nights that he had woken him up when he was aroused into being awake and he had kissed and kissed until Yami had finally responded to his touch.

Now the situation was completely backwards, if only because Yami had obviously been awake all day and had not managed to sleep in the meantime. He had to been up over twelve hours, and now he was growing exhausted and unable to keep his eyes open for much longer. In another situation he might have grown upset, even though himself inadequate, and he felt none of that now. He understood his boyfriend's growing grogginess. His need for sleep was impossible to ignore. And he also knew that if he were to pull away Yami would argue with him until he went back to his own pleasurable release. He would argue with him until he would eventually cave to his argument that it didn't matter if he managed to stay coherent in the meantime or not, just that he got relief.

"Darkness…"

His red eyes snapped open in artificial awareness. The center sparks of his irises gave away his feigned state with darker coloring that was out of place and made it look as if his pupils had bled into the other ring of his gaze with the bypass of the inner. But, even like this, groggy and disoriented and waiting for him to speak, he had to firmly ignore the pounding of his heart as his gaze seemed to sip under his flesh to lick through his blood and torture him in slow pulses.

"Just…ugh, keep going. I'll wake up in a minute."

Yugi nearly scoffed but rolled his eyes instead. "Whatever you say, Yami."

"Mmhmm, little game."

He rolled his eyes again but could not fight off that small twitch of a smile which crossed his lips and made him swallow thickly. He watched Yami closely for a moment, stretching himself out over him fully. He moved his hand down to his shoulders, bracing his fingers against his curved spine, and pressed his body upwards so that his chest nearly pressed against his. The movement was enough to jostle him though they both knew it would not wake him and Yugi pressed his lips against the taller boy's. The kiss was slow but passionate, with enough heat that it made Yami wake enough to continue his bucking against him as he wanted. The slender fingers made tight fists in the front of the fabric of his shirt, pulling him closer, and his red eyes opened into hooded slits of bright red. His gaze came to him in sharp, stinging burns, telling him if he backed out of his promise minutes before he was going to kick his ass later in the morning.

Yami moaned and pulled harder at his shirt, arching into his mouth, giving and taking as much as he could both offer and receive. Their lips locked, tongues tangling, and sweat blended together between them as they moved together. His mind was slowly but falling into nothing more than a lustful state so deep that he could not do much more than remember their names.

And he only needed _one_ of them.

Which was why it was the only thing that left his lips.

Over and over again.

"Yugi."

Blunt nails dragged down his ribs, enticing a low moaning gasp from the taller teen. He pulled back slightly, angling himself to thrust deeper within him, and felt himself melt in the glitter of burning dark red eyes.

Lips like satin traveled along his jaw, pressing and teasing and promising more if he could only stay awake. Teeth nipped at his earlobe and for only the briefest of seconds Yami wanted to beg him to stop and to keep going all at once. He wanted him to take until he had nothing more to give him, but give enough in return that he could no longer take.

"You with me, Yami?"

The violent shiver that passed through him at the sound of his own name gave him the only answer he needed. His nose pressed gently into the skin beneath his jaw, tempting him to continue, and Yugi licked his lip.

"Thank the gods," he murmured, moving enough to angle his jaw to the other's neck. His teeth scraped gently over the column there, coaxing a soft moan from him that resembled a mewl of pleasure. His tongue flickered out, wetting the skin from there and downwards, stopping at his collarbones to suck gently before giving a small nip that made Yami growl in contentment.

There was a single pause between them. It was uniform, something that had always developed between them, and the two of them shuddered together. Yami moved his hands to grab at his shoulders, slipping one hand into his hair as Yugi balanced his arms on either side of his ribcage. Fingers dug into his shoulders and lips crashed against his, both pulling and pushing and moaning, the sensation of being filled making his tired mind feel a little more alive.

Yami buried his face in his neck, somehow overwhelmed as he always was as they made love. His hands fisted his sweat-dampened hair and he felt him move further inside of him, going deeper and deeper until he could not figure out if he was moaning or mewling or simply chanting his name.

His mind forgot its tiredness briefly, a split second collision with the headboard making his senses spiral momentarily. The hard thrust made him cry out faintly, and his fingers sank into his flesh with bruising force as Yugi growled softly into his mouth. His neck was bathed in the hottest breath, his sweaty skin burning faintly. He forgot everything except him as they moved together and collided and breathed into each other, even that of his tiredness which weighed so heavily upon his limbs. He forgot the sting of his sore wrist which he knew would bleed little specks of blood all throughout the night due to his activities now with the smaller teen. It was just them, fire and need and raw curses spoken into the silence of a dimly lit room.

Lips trailed down his throat and the coil grew too tight, too bunched, but still it did not release as he had expected. He cursed PC muscles and Promescent, annoyed out of his mind that he was being denied the very thing he had been craving for two weeks.

Fire licked through his blood and Yami began to mumble something, possibly his name or perhaps a warning to slow down. Maybe it was even something or other because he was tired and needed to get it out of his mouth before he fell asleep. He pulled at his shoulders, grasping tightly at the fabric of his shirt, clawing at his skin beneath the fabric. His nails bit into the fabric, pushed into his skin violently, and he realized only what he was trying to force out after he took in the details of their situation.

Yugi was still fully dressed…

"Aibou…"

The smaller teen covered his mouth with his own, grumbling softly, "I hate this shirt anyways." He felt Yami's muscles tighten and clench around him, the other teen obviously trying to hold back some in order to give him the chance to pull the fabric off. But he did hate the shirt, something he had bought only to wear after dirtying his shirt on the plane with spilled soda, and getting bodily fluids on it was as good a reason as any to get rid of it.

Yami came at the same time as Yami did, moans of annoyance, laughter and strange awed bewilderment passing through their lips at once. He felt the thick ribbons hitting his shirt, pressing it against him for a split second, followed by several more and making him snicker in amusement.

"Promescent and PC muscles still a good idea, Yami?" he snorted.

Yami's eyes fluttered, half asleep and his voice soft. "Well, I'm exhausted. And it worked. Ass is numb." He paused and glanced at him for a moment before closing them again with a small sigh. "Totally a good idea."

Yugi snorted again and sat up straighter, reaching back towards his shoulders to tug the shirt over his head. He tossed it aside, moving to quickly kick away his jeans and boxers immediately after. Then he crawled under the covers with him, snuggling into his side and wrapping an arm around him, pulling him closer.

"Hey, uh, Yugi…?"

"Mm?" he hummed groggily, suddenly exhausted.

Yami pursed his lips slightly. "You're…on my side of the bed."

Blue-violet eyes opened into slits to stare at him incredulously. "What?"

"That side. It's mine. I like that side of the bed. I want my side back."

"The fuck?"

"It's my side!" he whined, glaring. "I want my side back! I've let you sleep on my side before because I was too tired to argue but I'm not too tired to argue for it right now and I _want_. My. Side. _Back_. Scoot!"

Yugi gawked at him. "You have _got_ to be shitting me."

"No. Now fucking _scoot_."

Both of them stared at each other in the darkness and Yugi glowered as he took the pillow and smacked him across the face with it.

"Shut the fuck up and go to sleep."

"No! My. Side."

"I knew I should have ravaged harder."

Yami burst out laughing and hugged him, Yugi snickering against his skin before snarling in frustration when he was rolled over suddenly and left on the other side of the bed. The taller teen immediately scooted over to his pillow and lay his head down, purring softly. "Fucking bitch."

"Don't be mean."

"Asshole."

"Yugi."

"I hate you."

"That has to be the sweetest thing you've said to me all night."

Yugi snorted and rolled his eyes before scooting closer, snuggling into him when Yami pulled him flush against him and laid his head on his chin. "Night."

"Night."

"…Yugi…?"

"Oh for fuck's sake, Yami, _what_?" he groaned loudly.

"Love you."

The smaller teen snorted, smiling against his neck. "Love you too."

 **So, PC muscles and Promescent = tighter control over when he comes. I had to research that. It was kind of funny. I think I giggled around being embarrassed and making sure Google was on Incognito Mode LOL Anyways, I don't remember it all, but Yami tucking his chin into his collarbone and moving a couple of different ways is meant to stimulate the PC muscles which will stem the flow of an orgasm. Promescent is an oral pill (?) which a guy would take to make himself last longer. Yami did a combination of both to make sure that Yugi was satisfied with their reunion.** **Which, you know, is kind of crazy because Yugi is head over heels for him and would enjoy it even if Yami passed out in foreplay (although, he'd definitely stop and just lay down with him after that).**


	5. Warnings

**Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Yu-Gi-Oh**

 **Update Schedule: I'm going to try for every Wednesday (wish me luck)**

 **Story Warning: Cursing will go from mild to excessive at times, depending on the character speaking and the situation they're in (I don't think they'll curse nearly as much as they did in _Simple_ though)**

 **All right, so, after that wonderful reunion, we have this chapter. Which is actually highlighted more on angst than anything. This is also going to set the tone for Yami's abrupt (and I do mean ABRUPT) downward spiral in the next couple of chapters. It also sets up a LOT of what is going to be happening in the next chapters as the story goes on.**

 **Also, so, as a refresher, because I know not everyone remembers everything that happened in _Simple_ (I don't and I'm the author lol), Atem told Yami very clearly that the Items could not be used against each other. Pegasus could not read Yami's mind and know what he had been doing that night he set up the warehouse to catch on fire. And Pegasus being within close proximity prevented him from being able to see Arkana's or the others' thoughts as well. Yami was unable to see into their pasts as he normally can with the Puzzle (because he sees the darkest parts of their lives and is able to break them using it, remember).**

 **What Ishizu means when she says what she does, is that the Necklace allowed her to at least SEE him. It did not allow her to influence his past in any way or manipulate the way he was raised. She could simply see him and she knew that Yami would be a HUGE person in her life growing up. That's why, when she found the tomb of Atem again and all of the hieroglyphics on the walls and especially the tablet she made immediate arrangements to sell them to the museum under the clause that she be sent to Japan with them, able to run the exhibit and have a place for herself and Marik to live.**

 **There's going to be a LOT more of her and Marik as the story goes on (or at least there is in planning, but considering the plot isn't written in stone, it could go otherwise...) and that's the smallest bit of backstory I can give without ruining anything.**

Chapter V: Warnings

Yugi woke up to an empty bed and his stomach growling. He didn't open his eyes, instead reaching out to touch the covers beside him and recoiling when he found them ice cold. He sat up abruptly, startled by the sensation, and looked around quickly. Yami was nowhere in sight. The room was only lit by the sunbeams coming through the window and even that was dulled by the curtains the other teen must have put up while he was in America. He cast a quick glance around, looking towards his clothes and wincing at the dried white splotch on the bottom of his shirt.

 _Fuck_.

He cringed at the thought and chewed his lip, trying to hear any movement from downstairs if it was possible. When he caught nothing, he wondered if Yami had maybe left the house for an errand. The idea was soothing compared to the one that was occupying his mind more fully in that moment—that this was just a repeat performance of their relationship before they had become official. Maybe he had offended him somehow and so he didn't want to be there when he woke up. In that case, Yugi was going to make a dash for the door as quickly as possible after he got a jacket to zip up and cover his shirt.

He glanced around quickly, the thought making his hands shake, and then found his way towards Yami's closet. His clothes were all hung up aside from his jeans, and most of them were thankfully more or less his style. He snatched a black hoodie with a pair of vinyl straps across the sleeves in case they had to be rolled backwards and tucked beneath it to line with his wrists. The sleeves were about two inches too long but with the way his fingers were shaking, he let them stay as they were.

He zipped it halfway and glanced around for a split second before snatching his shoes off the floor next to the bed. He still couldn't hear Yami moving around and the idea made his stomach twist and his heart pound painfully. Oh gods, if this was his way of a subtle nonexistent breakup, then they had to be one of the shortest lived couples of all time. He groaned under his breath but the thought was infuriating and his jaw clenched momentarily.

This was exactly what he had expected to happen. It was exactly what he had thought would come up eventually. It was what he had always expected to happen with a relationship if he put himself out there, though not in this particular way. He shook his head violently in annoyance and hissed out a distressed breath, frustrated with himself. The pain was there and he knew it was just going to get worse, but this was probably for the best if he was serious with himself.

Their relationship wasn't all that normal in the first place. Running into a warehouse that was on fire and preparing to lie down and burn with someone else wasn't a normal thing. And the only reason he had not gone through with it was because he didn't know if he had ever brought Yami happiness, something that had nothing to do with his own survival. If that didn't testify to just how strange and disconcerting their relationship was, he didn't know what did.

Yugi shook his head again and pulled the zipper all the way up after a moment of thought. He didn't want to look and see himself in the mirror in this state, despite the numerous amount lining the walls. Yami claimed that he liked mirrors when he brought it up last, but he was relatively sure it was because he was scared of something, namely his dad reappearing in his life. He had set them strategically, so that he could see one reflection in the next mirror, so that all of them would be set to show him the person before they could see him. Yugi wasn't stupid; he knew that was what they were there for. Whether he used them all the time was another question entirely. His arrival last night said no, but that could have also been because of how tired he truly was. And because he knew that it would be Yugi who would find his way into his room like that.

He ignored the way his eyes tried to flicker towards the glass and hurried straight for the door. He would get outside and make it home in about twenty minutes if he walked fast enough. He didn't want to have to run, because that might make someone ask if he was okay, and if they saw the state he assumed he was in then there would definitely be questions.

He moved as quietly as he could, making for the bottom of the steps with a glance towards the kitchen. Yami was nowhere near the table, nor was he in the living room when Yugi glanced in that direction. Relieved that they wouldn't have an awkward conversation about the breakup he was sure was looming over them if they ran into each other, he let out a small breath and started for the door quickly, about to grab it just as the knob turned. He blanched and then colored furiously when it pushed open in front of him.

Yami was in front of him with a couple of paper bags around his wrist and a cardboard tray of coffee drinks in his other hand, his eyes wide as he looked at him in shock and then blinked stupidly. For a moment he was frozen in front of him, red eyes light with confusion before warming up with affection. "Hi," he greeted casually, stepping inside and shutting the door behind him with such warm eyes that Yugi blinked in surprise. The taller teen raised a brow slightly, looking him over, and then reached back to lock the door before shifting the tray to his left hand and pulling one of the bags open.

"I didn't know what you'd want for breakfast so I just kind of grabbed some donuts from down the street," he announced, clearly trying to make Yugi feel more welcome than his absence had. He realized immediately, cringing mentally, that Yami knew exactly what he had been planning to do and what he had been thinking of upon waking up to an empty bed. "And then I figured coffee would be nice too, but then I realized that I didn't know what you wanted in it so I got a couple of creamers and packets of sugar and stuff like that. So…want to have breakfast?"

Yugi couldn't help but smile lopsidedly at the way Yami peered at him through his lashes and gave him a shy, lazy grin that made his eyes darker. "Sure," he said easily, ignoring the impulse to roll his eyes at himself and instead following him to the kitchen where he placed the bags on the table and pulled two creamers and a box of glazed donuts out. He reached over for one of the bottles, pulling it towards him, and tipped his head to the side curiously. "French vanilla and sweet cream?"

"Yeah…" He pursed his lips and looked them over with a small shrug before tearing the underside of the sticker to throw the box open between them. "I didn't know what you would like but I didn't want to get adventurous with flavors in case we both hated them. So I got the two most…basic ones, I guess."

Yugi rolled his eyes. "I like basically anything when it comes to creamers—even the mocha ones, which is pretty much just adding chocolate to coffee."

Yami wrinkled his nose at him and shook his head slightly before smiling warmly. "Have you tried the mint patty one? I was actually really curious about that."

"Uh, yeah, how about no? You wouldn't like it."

"Oh…well…why not?"

"Because it's too sweet and it doesn't have enough mint to it."

"Oh…" Yami shrugged and grabbed a donut before taking a seat and glancing at him from the corner of his eye. The smaller teen hesitated a moment longer and then took a seat as well, reaching over to grab one of the coffees, pausing and glancing at him for instruction. For a moment the other boy looked confused by his pause and then laughed as he gestured lazily. "They're both just a dark breakfast roast. I think I read somewhere that darker roasts were healthier than the lighter ones?"

"I wasn't aware that I was dating a health nut," he snorted, smiling despite the weird taste in his mouth that the word left. He grabbed a cup to keep from letting him see how awkward the statement felt now that he had spoken it and pulled the lid off with a glance at the two creamers. He fiddled with them, pulling the sleeves up on the jacket, and then blushed as he realized he had just been plotting to potentially run off in his boyfriend's stolen clothes. That was such a great thing to do.

Yami didn't answer him for a moment and instead munched on his donut with a casual glance at him from the corner of his eye. He wondered if Yugi felt just as tense and awkward as he was beginning to. They didn't really do the whole breakfast thing, replacing it with morning sex and then one leaving the other's house to do whatever it was that they wanted or needed for the day. They would meet up again hours later, normally swapping off houses, and big meals and things of that nature were just avoided in general. Sitting together now made every hair on his body stand on alert and his mouth taste dry and pasty, the donut a lump forming in his stomach.

"I try," he mumbled, though it sounded lame and nearly dejected. He winced when he saw Yugi stop short of picking at the aluminum protection seal and swallow tightly. Both of them were frozen and quiet for a moment before the smaller teen resumed what he was doing, eventually pulling the bottle to his face and grabbing the tag between his teeth.

"It's nice," he replied through his teeth, giving him a strained smile that spoke of what he really meant.

Yami nodded slightly, a jerky movement, and then grabbed his own cup and the French vanilla in order to busy himself and help swallow the lump that the food was forming again. He had really hoped that Yugi wouldn't catch the underlying concern in his voice like he had and the whole situation made him want to hide beneath the table.

"Son of a _bitch_."

He snorted and then burst out laughing when he saw that Yugi had splashed the creamer all over his face when he pulled too hard. He covered his mouth as the other gave him an annoyed look before turning away and clearing his throat. "Need a napkin?" he choked out, struggling to smother his laughter before glancing over and howling when Yugi scowled at him silently. "You look like a drowned rat! Like a drowned Pikachu! Look at your forelock!"

Yugi narrowed his eyes and then wiped his face off with his hand before smacking his cheek with his palm. Yami froze in place at the cold touch and then stared at him in pure shock, the smaller teen smirking proudly at the dumbfounded expression. "And you looked like you needed to be smacked."

"I'm so glad I have you looking out for me," he drawled sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "But you didn't smack the right spot."

He blinked and then tilted his head like an interested dog, leaning forward and looking at his crotch. "Which side are we talking about? I could do either," he purred, making Yami laugh and push him away by the forehead.

"Like I'm letting you touch me anywhere. You're abusive."

Yugi almost wanted to say that he liked when he was abusive but stopped short, eyes widening momentarily. He wasn't—was he? He wasn't actually physically or emotionally abusive, right? He had never wounded Yami to the point that it could be considered that way, had he? He couldn't recall it being an issue unless it was before they had decided to go out, when most of the time he fought with him just to make him react and sometimes cut him so deeply that he looked like he was dying inside.

He cringed at the idea and the movement was not lost on the other boy who was now frozen in front of him, eyes wide and unblinking. He looked startled, almost horrified by his new expression, and for a moment neither of them could do anything but stare in surprise.

Abruptly Yami turned away, pouring the creamer into his coffee and trying to think of something to say. He knew better than to push at the issue, than to try to reassure Yugi when he was not ready to have the conversation. If he did, he was liable to argue until they were talking in circles or even get up and wander off—possibly to his house or just upstairs.

The thought was depressing, that he did not know how to help his boyfriend when he knew how unsteady he was with the entire idea of having a relationship with him in the first place. It probably didn't help that he had ruined his friendship beforehand and caused him to fall from the top of the food chain to the very bottom in response. He doubted he blamed that on him—and he knew if he asked, he'd probably say it didn't matter—but it still bothered him more often than not.

After going to school again without Yugi there, he had grown hideously aware of everything around him as far as that went. He was always acutely aware of how isolated he had become, how little anyone cared to say anything about either of them. Joey and Tristan and Tea had all given him strange looks due to Yugi's absence, though no one had spoken about it, and he wasn't completely blind to some of the whispers at the school.

A rumor had gone around that they had broken up and Yugi had become so ashamed of it all that he had decided to become home-schooled. It was a pathetic rumor and even stupider when one took into account Yugi's personality, how stubborn and strong he was when ridiculed, but it still bit at his insides. Every now and then it was whispered just loudly enough for him to hear and more than once, in his exhausted mental state, he had almost considered it a truth. Then, remembering he was in the states, he would shake it off with visible effort and make his way to class or to his lunch table and attempt to ignore them all once more.

"So, I was thinking…"

Yugi blinked and looked at him, startled when he realized that the other boy looked abruptly exhausted and worn out. But, as the other blinked, the slip of expression seemed to be tucked away again effortlessly, as if he had merely forgotten to hold his usual confidence. "About what?" he finally asked when he realized that the other was too terribly aware of his study of his face from moments before.

"I…" He paused for a moment, glancing at his cup and grimacing. He had poured too much. The liquid was far too cream-colored now. He wrinkled his nose briefly but didn't comment, instead flipping the lid back on his creamer and putting it on the table again. He pushed it towards the smaller teen but Yugi was still studying him, eyes boring into him desperately, wondering and confused. "Mai asked me to help her with her project. She wants to…do an interview with me."

"An interview?" he asked with wide eyes, raising a brow and then frowning at him minutely. For a brief second he wondered if perhaps he was thinking of the admission that he had slept with her. He had merely been experimenting after Yugi had made the point that perhaps Tea hadn't been the girl he was attracted to enough to get an erection. But when he had told him he knew it had not been the easiest thing for him to swallow. He had not been happy with the statement, but he had accepted it, though it had seemed as if he had done so with a heaviness in his heart. He still worried sometimes that when the blonde was ever mentioned or seen in the hallways that perhaps he thought of her as an issue or something of a rival at times. He could see several times the way that his eyes sometimes turned harsh at the mere mention or appearance of her.

"About our relationship—or…I guess, more specifically, my parents—"

"Fuck that," the smaller boy snarled so angrily that his head snapped up and his eyes grew thrice their usual size. The other trembled briefly once and then clenched his jaw, the donut he had just selected nearly getting squeezed into broken chunks. He blinked at him, still unsure of what more to do, and the blue-violet-eyed teen shook his head sharply. "No."

He paused, opening and closing his mouth once, and then grimaced. "I…I didn't say I would," he muttered, unable to say anymore around the stunned buzz of electricity that curled in his nerve endings. He blinked stupidly again, grimace growing more pronounced as the seconds passed. "I was considering it…"

" _Why_?"

Yami straightened his shoulders, sitting up a little more, and blinked at him as his brows furrowed in confusion. "Yugi, I…" He trailed off and a realization began to creep through him as he looked at his coffee for a moment. "I didn't mean actually talk about _them_. I meant that she just wants to do an interview where I can talk about how they reacted to my…homosexuality."

He frowned, settling back a bit more against his chair, and chewed his cheek as he sighed softly. "I thought you meant…oh…"

"No, if I wanted to talk about them, I would have with you," he murmured, suddenly unable to look at him as he quickly grabbed his coffee cup to take a sip. The liquid burned his tongue despite the creamer, but the taste was as sweet as he had expected, making his taste buds recoil faintly in distress. "I wouldn't do that…"

"I…I know, I'm sorry. I just…"

"Hate them that much?"

The tone was light and teasing but Yugi nodded without a second thought. "I hate them. If it wasn't illegal, I'd kill them myself," he grumbled, the harshness of his tone making them both pause but not look at each other. For a brief second he was embarrassed to say something like that, and he wondered if maybe Yami might object out of some kind of twisted loyalty. But the moment of opportunity passed and instead he breathed out in relief as he saw that, though he had not looked up, the other boy seemed mildly amused and maybe even a little awed. "So…do you think you might actually do it?"

"What? The interview? I'm still considering it," he murmured with a shrug, looking up and raising a brow when he saw the way his boyfriend seemed to process the words like he would sample a new dish of food. His jaw was twitching, working at either locking or opening into a nasty remark aimed at the idea and his eyes were slightly cold. "I mean, I could at least have the interview be a way of speaking out—even if it _is_ only to our classmates. Because, I'm not going to lie, I'm still seriously confused by the entire idea of the social hierarchy we have going on in there."

He snorted, laughing out loud a second later, and then shook his head, glancing at the glazed donut in his fingers and frowning at the crushed status it now held. He nearly cringed at the sight of it but instead shrugged and put it into his other hand, licking the frosting from his fingers. "It's complicated—and pretty stupid so I don't see why you're worrying about it." He paused for a moment and then tilted his head, looking at him and sitting back further in his seat with a frown. "I could see wanting to help someone else with the stress, Yami, but I…I don't see how that would do anything for you. If anything, it would just give more reason for them to pick at you and me again—and if your parents got mentioned in there, they'd just leap at the chance to use that against you too. Besides, I don't think anyone else is going to have to live with the exact situation that you did… _do_ , I guess."

"I'd be a coward if I let the idea of them ganging up on me some more get in my way," he commented with a slight roll of his eyes, taking another sip and then fiddling with the cup as he rolled it between his palms for a split second. He narrowed his eyes, considering the other words, and then shrugged lazily. "But you're right. It's probably not worth all of the hassle. I would have to be extremely aware of everything I say and do on the screen and be sure not to mention my parents—possibly keep you out of it too."

Yugi blinked, frowning and shaking his head sharply. "I didn't mean to…" He hesitated for a moment and then raked a hand through his hair, cringing at the stickiness of his bangs. "Look, Yami, if you really want to do it, then go for it, okay? I'm not saying that you have to agree with me—I don't ever want you to think that I say or do things just to make you feel that way, okay? I just…I'm just pointing out some of the crap that could come around from it. If you really want to do it, then I…I'll…support you all the way."

Yami raised his attention to him once more, brows going up towards his hairline for a brief second. He leaned forward, looking at him closely, and then reached over to touch his forehead with the back of his hand as if testing for a fever. "Strange. I almost thought those were supportive-relationship words, Yugi," he teased, smirking at him lopsidedly before pulling his hand away and leaning back into his seat again. "It's something to think about, but I don't know if I will or not. I'll consider it some more later."

He didn't even bother to attempt to swat his hand away as he normally would have, somehow surprised by the idea in itself and frowning faintly. "Oh whatever," he mumbled, rolling his eyes and taking a sip of his coffee. He recoiled, gagging, and nearly cried out in disgust at the taste of the black coffee on his tongue. "Fuck, I forgot creamer."

He laughed out loud, smiling in amusement, and shook his head at the smaller boy. "I was going to warn you, but then I forgot," he chuckled, reaching over to snatch a donut from the box in the center of the table and raising a brow. It was almost innocent and yet sultry all at once, something that Yugi had never thought to apply to such a simple gesture. "Oops."

"Bullshit. You totally didn't tell me so that you could watch me do that!"

"No, really, I did forget—you have my word." He snorted, taking a bite out of the donut and smirking as he shook his head. He pointed the pastry at him. "If I'm not telling the truth, then may the gods smite this donut out of my hand."

"You're so stupid," Yugi scoffed, laughing and shaking his head in response. "You need a brain transplant or something. You sound _way_ too stupid right now."

" _Rude_."

"Oh, but it's truthful." He licked the glaze off his fingers again, then reached over to take a bite of his pulverized donut. Yami turned away again, about to take a bite, and found the donut falling from his hand. He blinked, stupefied for a brief second, and then glared at the other boy who snorted and smirked in amusement as he looked at him. "What? The gods decided to smite your donut and you glare at me?"

Yami opened his mouth to snap that it was him who had knocked it out of his hand and _not_ a god but then stopped short. In all reality, more often than not, on those nights when Yugi had not been with him—before and after they had started their relationship—he had had lewd dreams where he had referred to him as one. More often than not, in those dreams, he revered him as one, his own personal god who he could love and cherish when he should have been having nightmares about his childhood or the awkward drug-induced dream about eating too much ice cream and becoming a snow-cone.

But that was not something he would ever tell Yugi. And it was a pedestal that he could never place him on—for both their sakes. If Yugi ever found out, he would try to be that person he thought he saw him as and not realize that he was often the same in his dreams as he was when he was sitting around with him lazily and watching television. If he ever actually put it into words, he feared his own perspective about his boyfriend might change somehow. He wasn't sure how or why, but he felt that it might and so he wisely remained silent about it. There was no need to say something when he clearly could not consciously wrap his mind around the possible consequences that could come about from it.

"I saw your fingers. Besides, if the gods were doing it, something drastic would have happened. A storm would have rolled in and a lightning bolt would have single-handedly shot the donut out of my hand, rendering it fried and tasteless. Or the chandelier would have fallen from the ceiling and, while we were moving out of the way, a large chunk of plaster would have cut it in half and the other smaller bits would lodge themselves inside of it and I wouldn't be able to eat it without risk of cutting my intestines when it passed through. Or—"

"For fuck's sake, shut up," Yugi groaned, rolling his eyes.

"Then, do you admit it?"

"No, I told you. The gods did it."

* * *

"Atem."

Yami spun around with the intention of spitting at yet another reporter looking to make money from news of his place in Japan. He had made it clear to several others that he would not give them their amazing inside scoop on his father or the warehouse ordeal. But the moment he saw her, his body seized in place and his eyes grew wide with shock. His mind faltered, growing overshadowed with his confusion, and the thoughts disappeared completely. His eyes bore into the woman's face, then flickered down, locking on a symbol carved there, where the gold glittered like sunlight along the surface of water.

His heart began to race.

"Ishizu Ishtar," he stated in a voice that was oddly cool despite his mounting confusion and horror. She was the owner of the Egyptian museum in the Domino Museum. She had brought with her the slab of stone with the depiction of his ancestor, the pharaoh Atem, his namesake, a mere year ago. It was not surprising that she knew of him despite his lack of venture towards the museum for fear of recognition as the ambassador's son.

All of this filtered somewhere in the darkest corners of his mind.

But most of his attention was focused on the necklace in front of him.

The only other Millennium Items he knew of was his own Puzzle and the Eye that Pegasus had worn before he had died. After Atem had spoken to him so urgently about them, about how he should avoid them, the thought of being in front of one that was not his Puzzle made him want to turn tail.

But it became second to a new, ingrained rage that began in his blood. She had dipped her head respectfully towards him when he had announced her name, as if he were some kind of important figure. If he was not mistaken, she had grown up with tomb keepers in Egypt. She and her brother had been abused relentlessly by their father, so when a deal had come about that she could flee with him after selling the artifacts of Atem's tomb, she had leaped on the opportunity.

"You must return to Egypt."

The words, at first, did not process in his head. He could not stop staring at the Necklace. And then when his gaze rose, he found himself lost in bright blue, nearly icy blue eyes that seemed almost like those of his cousin Seto's. But the thought died away. And he stared at her with an overwhelming sense of bitterness and growing hatred as his lips curled and his features twisted into a glower.

"I have no plans to do so. Ever."

If there had ever been one thing that he had known for sure, it was that Egypt was not a place he had planned to go. There was no near or distant future which included such a thing coming to pass again. He wanted nothing to do with his home country. He would rather have himself gutted and hung like a fish than go back there.

"You must, Atem!"

The urgency in her voice made his spine grow rigid and his heart began to race once more. Something about it made his fingers tremble. He remembered, for a moment, the faintest of whispers in his ear, during those nightmares. And his skin tingled as his breath caught tightly in his chest.

"You must stop the chain of events that will come to pass. If you do not, many more horrible things will—"

"Stop."

"—happen that will—"

"I said stop."

"—hold the potential—"

"Goddamn you, Ishizu," Yami spat viciously, baring his teeth. "I said that was _enough_."

"You are not listening," the woman snapped angrily, eyes flashing like ice and making his skin crawl. "And until you _listen_ it is _not_ enough, Atem."

"Yami. My name is _Yami_."

"If it will bring you to listen, then very well, Yami," she conceded, making the teen's red gaze sharpen and narrow. "You are happy now. The boy, Yugi. He brings you great joy."

Yami gave her an unimpressed look. Tons of people had heard about his relationship with Yugi. After he had publicly defeated Duke in order to save Yugi's house, anyone who lived in Domino City knew who he was. He got pictures taken of him every now and then, when he was alone, from paparazzi that were confused by Yugi's absence at his side.

"But, if you fail to stop the things happening in Egypt, you will not have him much longer."

"Do not threaten me," Yami hissed darkly, bristling. "And _never_ threaten Yugi. I will _destroy_ you."

"I do not threaten you. The threat comes from within."

"If you mean the Puzzle, you can back off. I have that under control—"

"The Puzzle holds no ill will against your partner, Atem. The threat comes from further within. From an enemy unseen. If you do not go to Egypt, you will set a chain of catastrophic events into action and—"

"I am not going back to Egypt, regardless of these 'catastrophic events'."

"Then Yugi will die."

Yami went completely still.

"What?"

"Your partner will die."

"I _heard_ that, you stupid witch," he spat coldly. "Explain yourself."

"I do not have much time. These events will begin in exactly two days. You have that long to figure out if you can get past the grudge you bear to save his life."

Yami clenched his jaw.

"Go alone. Do not tell anyone. Take the Puzzle for protection. Two days, Yami."

"The last time someone threatened me with a time limit, they were burned alive," Yami hissed out.

"It's not a threat, Atem. It is a warning. To protect you and the one you hold dearest."

Yami stayed silent for a moment. "Why are you warning me, Ishizu? What do you benefit from doing so?"

"My paths became crossed with yours the day I gained this Item. For years I have watched you through visions. I knew the moment Yugi would worm his way into your heart and the moment he would give in to you." She paused, blue eyes glittering like solid chips of ice. "Who you risk losing now."

Yami stayed silent for a long minute. "I go to Egypt. What the fuck happens _then_?"

"The Puzzle will guide you to stop the threat."

"No, you're scraping the surface like you're afraid to go deeper," Yami stated in amusement, lifting the right side of his mouth into a slight smirk. "Allow me. You expect me to go to Egypt to find the man who has been haunting my sleep for the last few weeks. You expect me to keep him from killing my parents. Is that it?"

"You would ignore your dreams? Discard them as if they were nothing? Two weeks of this dream and you do not find it strange?"

"Oh, admittedly so," Yami spat. "But the thing I don't give a fuck about is my parents. Why should I care if they die?"

"He is after _you_ , not _them_."

Yami stared coldly for a moment. "After me? For what _reason_?"

"The Puzzle."

He blinked once, startled, and his fingers itched to touch the piece in his hoodie pocket. Instead he awkwardly tugged at the tongue of metal, listening with a disconnected sensation as it rattled softly. The Puzzle had saved him when he was six, had protected him all of his life since, and had even kept him alive the few weeks back that he had been kidnapped and held for ransom by Pegasus. His nails clicked as he tried to push the thoughts away, a faint smell like fire burning in his nose for the smallest of seconds. He would rather die than think about the things that had happened that day.

"Ishizu," he ground out between his teeth, eyes burning into hers as he struggled to keep his voice calm, "tell me what you have seen and I will figure out from there what must be done."

"I cannot do so. I am merely meant to warn you. And I have done so, A—Yami."

He stared at her for a long time, feeling sickened by the very idea with which she was offering him such a warning. "…You expect me to run to Egypt to save my parents under the pretense that it will save _Yugi_?"

"I do not remember you being so skeptical growing up."

He bristled, hatred welling up in his stomach. He could not stand to think of his childhood. The very concept of dwelling on his upraising made him want to spit in her face. He trembled, fingers knotted together faintly, and clenched his jaw. For a moment he thought to punch her, immediately and without hesitation, but pushed it away.

"You have no _knowledge of me_ growing up."

Ishizu watched him for a long time. Her blue eyes burned into his, with something like arrogance and power that made him want to shiver. For the smallest of seconds he thought of ice, glacially stretching forth and consuming anything it could bear to touch.

"No, but I have watched you your entire life, Yami Sennen. The Necklace made sure of that."

Yami blinked and a horror settled in his stomach as he stared at her for a moment longer. Dear gods, she, like he, had been influenced violently by the Item's existence in her life. Hers had most likely been as hectically split as his own, with warnings that made little sense and pain woven into the body like cold spider webs. He thought of his life like a broken mirror at times, shattered terribly in the corners back and forth across the top half, with the bottom and middle less damaged.

"And…what shall happen to me when I get there?" he asked slowly, a million new images bursting into his head. What if _he_ was the one to end up dead in their room? What if their room was to be covered in his blood? What if he found himself, instead, face to face with his father? What would happen then? Or…was Atem actually _sure_ that he had killed everyone in the warehouse? What if…?

"The Puzzle will protect you when he turns on you."

He faltered, staring at her. She said it so simply, as if he should have known that placing his life in the judgment of an inanimate object was meant to be common sense.

"That is so comforting," he sneered dryly.

Ishizu watched as he turned away with a shake of his head. She stared at him as he turned on his heel. She knew exactly where he was headed, what he would find there. At the shop, Yugi would be sitting on the stool behind the counter. He would be sorting through a few little items for inventory. But he would stop what he was doing. And the face, surprised and confused, that formed in her eyes, struck her similarly.

Yami would go to Egypt, but he would not make it in time.

She had warned him too late.

Yugi looked up when the bell went off. The chime made his ears ache for a moment. His eyes shot immediately to the door, his spine aching briefly from sitting in the same position for so long. He tilted his head, blinking wide eyes, and frowned thoughtfully as he got to his feet from behind the counter.

"Are you okay?"

Yami blinked stupidly in response to the question, frowning at him slightly. Was he okay? What was he meant to say to him in the first place? What was there to truly say? How was he meant to tell him that he would have to go to Egypt? He had pledged in front of everyone that he would not go there ever again. He had said it in front of Yugi, in front of Ryou, Bakura, Malik, Marik, Seto, Rebecca, and Mokuba. He had spat it at his father, that he would never go back.

And he knew just how much Yugi hated his parents. To say that he would go there with the idea that he wanted to save them… He could not fathom his response. Nor could he imagine choking such words from his throat.

He had given up on them. He had ignored their existence since the moment he had declared himself independent for himself that day. Not once had he ever considered speaking to them. He had not ever even thought of anything about them.

"You look like someone just hit you."

Yami blinked at him and his frown curled further at the edges, his lips tugging almost into something of a snarl. He looked like someone had just hit him? He shook his head slightly to banish the onslaught of hideous images that came over him. He reached up and ran a hand through his hair, narrowing his eyes faintly.

"No…no," he muttered softly, shaking his head again. "No…no one is stupid enough to hit me."

Yugi watched him with something of a disbelieving expression. But he did not comment, even as the seconds passed and he continued to study him as if he could not understand his lie. Eventually he shrugged, knowing that, if he thought it necessary, he would tell him himself later on. Yami wasn't one to keep secrets now that they were dating. Before had been an entirely different situation.

He'd hidden a million different things before they had decided to try their hands at dating. All of them had been things that would have most likely isolated him from the rest of his peers. And Yugi would have—despite himself—probably pitied him more than he respected him after learning it all. Had he come out and told him, he thought he might have either laughed to keep his bravado at school or he would have shunned him for it. No one wanted to truly deal with all of the terrifying baggage that had come with him.

"So, do you want to help me finish up the count for these? I'm back onto booster packs for Duel Monsters," he murmured, gesturing to the surface of the counter and watching his face for the briefest of seconds. The other boy looked almost sickened as he stood there in front of him, not as if he were disgusted by the idea, but whatever had disturbed him when he had first come into the shop. Had something happened on the way here?

Had someone bothered him? He knew their schoolmates still liked to try to mess with him. Despite the numerous times Yami had punched someone in the face and knocked teeth out, they still messed with him. They tended more to try to harass him than they did Yugi. His reputation as the bad boy preceded him more often than not. Some others would ignore them pointedly. They either shunned or they avoided them completely.

"Sure," he muttered. "I'll help you with that."

"Great. Because there are a lot of them."

He grabbed him a second stool, the one that he would use when his grandpa would sit with him behind the desk. They would make games or riddles to test each other, but now his grandpa was off at the market. So he was stuck alone for the moment. He gave him the softer stool, more than a little conscious of just how unhappy his boyfriend looked at the moment.

"That works for me. I need a good distraction at this rate."

Yugi barely refrained from asking him what it was that had happened. Instead he handed him the pile that he had put on the counter and grabbed the next box that he had resting beside him. Yami easily began to look over the foil's designs, counting and then looking at the small notepad that his boyfriend had in front of him. He wrote the number, then took up the next set that Yugi passed over to him.

For over an hour they did nothing but count, all but ignoring each other. He felt almost as if they had been reverted back to the time after they had first had sex. Having to come to Yugi's house after being partnered for a second project together, Yami had sat on the other side of the couch. The distance now, seemed as if it had grown tenfold, and there was a fissure in between them.

He fidgeted with a pack of cards, then wrote the number down. He wanted for a moment to demand answers. He wasn't used to Yami not talking to him. He was, of course, used to sitting with him in silence every now and then, not the least bit unnerved by their companionable quiet, but now it was too much. It seemed stifling. It seemed as if he were going to push more and more space between them. The thought made him want to panic.

He wanted to open his mouth, but faltered. He hesitated, writing a new number down, and looked away for a moment. He could not think to say anything at the moment. It was somehow horrifying that he could not even think to find words.

He swallowed hard, feeling almost as if his lungs were going to constrict and fold in on themselves. He wanted to puke for a moment. He opened and closed his mouth a second time, but could not force noise from his throat.

"Yugi?"

He jerked at the sound of his name. His head snapped around. His eyes widened drastically. He blinked stupidly at the red-eyed teen beside him. Yami was still staring at the counter in front of him, holding the foil tightly between his fingers and pulling lightly at the edges.

"Yeah?"

He was surprised that he had not stuttered.

Yami blinked, tilting his head to the side, and then pursed his lips before turning his head to look at him slowly. He licked his lips, biting the soft skin of his mouth for the briefest of seconds. He still looked so terribly troubled.

"Did you ever….you know…look into what rope you wanted to use?"

Yugi blinked at him, almost stupefied for a moment. Rope? When had they ever spoken about rope? He furrowed his brows right before his eyes grew bright and his lips pulled into a wide, beautiful smile.

"Oh, you mean to tie you up with!" he managed to laugh out, feeling overwhelmed for the briefest of seconds. "I did, actually. I looked up a lot of things to figure out which ones would work best and I picked one before I got back. I put it on hold. I have to go pick it up tomorrow morning actually."

Yami watched him for a moment. "They sell it there?"

"They do."

He stayed quiet for a long time before blinking slowly and tilting his head to the side. "Did you know when you wanted to do this?" he asked after a moment. "I mean, we've got a week before you go back to school. And no one will miss me. We could be three sheets until then."

The smaller boy blinked at him, expression going from amused to something suspicious. He could tell he was laying it on too thickly, but he could not find it in himself to care. It was hard for him to attempt speaking about being tied up as Yugi had wanted to do beforehand. But it was also Ishizu's words, echoing in his head, which made him nervous and almost sick.

Yugi continued staring at him for a moment longer. Then he shrugged his shoulders lightly as if to shake off his own suspicion. He sat up a little straighter, licking his lips, his eyes brightening abruptly with excitement. "I wouldn't say no to that," he announced, smirking as he leaned forward. Yami blinked at him, raising a brow, when he paused a few small inches from his lips. "If you can keep up with me, that is."

He let out a mocking laugh, expression deadpan. "Well, first we'll have to see if there's anything to keep up _with_ , won't we, Yugi?"

His face fell into a scowl for a moment. But his eyes were filled with laughter and he couldn't help the small snort that left him. "I hate you," he breathed out, guffawing a moment later and leaning his shoulder against his playfully. "You suck, Yami."

"Actually, if I recall correctly, that is _still_ your job."

He narrowed his eyes, scowling at him further, and then pecked him on the cheek. He shivered slightly at the sensation, feeling almost weak from how awkwardly unnerving it seemed. He had not _ever_ kissed him on the cheek before. And it was apparent that Yami was surprised as well. His red eyes had grown a little wider but the rest of his face remained expressionless. Had he not known him, he would have thought him completely unmoved by it. But he had come to know that his eyes often betrayed him. It was not apparent, and he shielded it well, but the smallest sparks of color would shift in his gaze. And when they did, he could tell their expression from former studying of his eyes.

They only sparked at the very bottom of his pupils, then towards the outer edges of his irises. The rest of his gaze remained absolutely expressionless. He had come to realize it was a defense mechanism that Yami had honed growing up, but it sometimes still scared him. And, had he not known to look, he would never have seen it.

Yugi leaned back, forcing himself not to make the entire thing any further awkward, and glanced at the booster packs in front of him. "How many of them did you count?"

Yami blinked, then moved to kiss him quickly on the cheek. The movement startled him, making him jump, and the other boy snorted loudly before turning away. He was still snickering when Yugi recovered seconds later, all but gaping at him in surprise, and said, "Twenty."

He had not considered that Yami might try to ease his awkwardness with his own attempt to mimic him. It was not surprising in all its entirety, but he made those gestures less than he did others. Sometimes he would do something stupid and the other would repeat them in order to make his embarrassment lessen. It was not always, but it happened sometimes. He thought it was more of an attempt to make him more comfortable with his presence.

Yugi felt bad that he had to consider that. Because he knew that Yami loved him. And he might have loved him back, but he was still unnerved sometimes when he did things with him. It was terrifying to him at times. It was still so new and different to him that it made his insides twist.

And he knew that Yami sometimes blamed himself for his discomfort. He knew sometimes, when he looked at him when he thought he would not notice, that he struggled with it as well. It was painful for him to witness his reactions, just as it was guilt-inducing to see him mimic him in order to put him at ease again.

He wanted, so often, to apologize to him. He wanted to kiss him, to tell him that he just needed time to figure it all out. He wanted to promise him that he would get better. But he knew Yami would argue. And he realized that he would fight him every step of the conversation if he ever so much as brought it up. So he would sit there, guilty and terrified, but could not always shake his emotions in time for Yami not to notice.

And, by the gods, did Yami notice.

It seemed, at times, as if he were always watching him.

And he supposed that made sense with everything that had happened.

Hadn't it been him who had curled up with him on the mattress in the basement with him that night he had finally truly told him he loved him without argument? Hadn't he been the one to wake in the middle of the night and curl up closer to him each time? And hadn't he woken at one point to find his leg twisted around Yami's, the heel of his foot hooked around his thigh? And when Yami had grumbled groggily and blinked at him in confusion, wasn't he the one who had wondered—just for the smallest of seconds—if he was still breathing?

After all of the trauma that had come about upon rescuing him from the warehouse, his constant worry had become something of his most persistent friend. He had panicked on numerous occasions that Yami was not truly there when he woke in the middle of the night. Or he would dream of him coughing up blood until he was motionless and his final wheeze was the smallest of apologies.

Yugi shivered, thrusting the idea away. Yami glanced at him sideways, confused. He tilted his head slightly, watching him. The smaller teen felt sick as he looked at him for a moment. He hated sleeping at night sometimes because of it.

And, often, he wondered if his more restless nights came from a similar source.

It was he who had dealt with the issue of being inside the fire for so much longer. It was he who had the lung damage rather than Yugi himself. So it would not have surprised him in the least that he might have night terrors because of it.

The smaller teen opened his mouth for a moment to say something but then froze. His eyes grew a little wider and Yami blinked stupidly in confusion. For a moment he couldn't understand the horrified look that was crossing his eyes. And then the other boy sputtered, "Fuck, is that blood?"

"Blood?" His head turned in confusion, looking at his shoulder immediately. It was not so uncommon, after pulling the stitches and reopening the wound several times, for it to bleed out. So when he saw nothing there, he was utterly confused.

"Not up—your side! Your clothes are soaked!"

Yami blinked stupidly, incomprehension making him slower than usual at grasping such a concept. He pulled his right arm away, lowering his eyes, and blinked at the sight that greeted him there once more. The black tank top was soaked through, spread down almost entirely to his hip and almost to his naval.

"I don't feel any pain…"

Yugi was already up on his feet, throwing the sign on the door to the Closed position, and had snatched his hand immediately to pull him to his feet. He was dragged upstairs before he could even fully blink again. Then he was thrown straight into a seat at the table, the smaller boy rushing off for a first-aid kit, no doubt.

He blinked, lifting his shirt, and frowned as he looked the gauze over. It was soaked but there was no discoloration aside from a pale but disturbing yellow. He swallowed hard, feeling sick for a moment, as he stared down at the patch of white medical tape that held it in place.

It was clear discharge.

What did that mean again?

Did that mean healing or was it another infection?

For fuck's sake, he thought he would end up funding the entire market of antibiotics within just a couple of weeks.

Yugi came back a second later, hissing between his teeth unhappily. "You don't even feel it?" he grumbled unhappily.

"No, I…honestly don't."

He shot him a slightly flustered look, though it was distinctly furious as well. How far removed did he have to be in order to ignore the obvious discomfort that should have come with that?

* * *

"You didn't want to have sex?"

Yugi halted from where he had just finished brushing his teeth and poked his head out of his bathroom door. The taller boy was peering at him with a curious, almost undone expression, and it made his stomach curl for a moment to see it. He was looking at him as if he expected only for them to roll around together, as if that was truly the only purpose he could see for his being there in the first place. Yugi fought away a wave of nausea.

"I'm not having sex with a leaky faucet," he snorted, pulling his toothbrush away just long enough to deliver the retort before hurrying to the sink. The froth in his mouth was dribbling over his lips. It was making his skin cold and he hated that sensation. He crinkled his nose as he spat into the sink with clear distaste.

Yami scoffed loudly from the other room, "That must be a hard promise to keep with Mr. Happy over there."

Yugi choked, then rinsed his mouth out and smacked his brush against the sink. He couldn't help the smirk appearing on his lips, nor the way he almost burst out laughing, but he still paused and drummed his fingers against the counter. Asshole. He turned and walked back out, sneering playfully, "Mr. Happy does whatever he wants. It's not his fault he's so open and free."

The taller teen burst out laughing, the smile on his lips so warm and gentle that it made him feel desperate to keep it there. He shook his head, lowering his eyes towards his crotch, and purred, "It would be a shame to restrain him in any way."

He snickered and settled back onto the bed next to him. He was in his bright sky blue pajamas but Yami was still in jeans and a t-shirt he'd let him borrow since his tank was still soaked. He'd insisted it wasn't a big deal but Yugi had refused to let him stay in it, or to fail to change the bandages on both wounds. He'd complied without argument, and he had the smallest idea that it was only because he craved the attention he was getting at that moment.

"Well, I wouldn't say that. He's a beast, so he has to be restrained with boxers and leather every now and then."

He chuckled and shook his head. "Well, that explains it then." He raised a brow curiously, looking at him sideways. "Although, if I remember right, you told me earlier you were going commando."

"That was when he thought he was going to have some fun. Now he's obviously not."

The statement came out joking but with a more serious edge which made Yami pause and frown at him. His red eyes were innocently startled, but his lips were tugging into a frown as his teeth pressed into his cheek for a moment. "Yugi, I'm fine. Really—I mean, if you really don't want to, then that's—"

He couldn't understand how he didn't realize how depressing it was to see him so removed from physical pain earlier. How the hell someone so smart failed to see it, he didn't know, and that frustrated him as he snapped, "Look, Yami, it's not happening, okay? Leave it alone."

He instantly regretted his sharp tone when Yami blinked wide eyes and then quickly lowered his gaze with a slight drop of his shoulders. If Yugi had not been formerly made a game of watching him and taking stock of each of his expressions, he would have missed it. He would never have even noticed his shoulders had fallen in the first place. His stomach twisted and the guilt ate a fresh hole in his conscious.

"That's not…I'm sorry." He faltered, because he knew Yami was listening but he still refused to look up at him. Awkwardly he ran a hand through his hair, then sighed and shifted towards him with obvious discomfort in his position. "I didn't mean to snap, okay? I just…sometimes you still act like you need to do things for me. And it's…kind of irritating."

He cringed, but now he was peeking at him from beneath his lashes, red eyes slightly hopeful. "I'll work on it," he offered.

It should have made him feel better, but somehow it made everything worse. Yugi sat there, staring at him with a sensation of icy dread creeping over his spine and his stomach tossing more violently than he had ever known it to before. He opened and closed his mouth, then squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. How did Yami not…? It wasn't something he wanted him to…? He was just acting like…?

He drew a deep breath in, then opened his eyes and looked at him. Something haunted and confused shone in the other's gaze, a sense of mocking clarity scratching at the surface of his expression. It was almost as if he had found the answer but thought it would be completely wrong, like his own focus was scattered on something that Yugi would not agree with. The thought made him press his tongue against the roof of his mouth again for a long moment.

"Yami, do you remember…when Grandpa had his heart attack?" he asked slowly, furrowing his brows when the red-eyed teen blinked and then nodded slightly with utter confusion etched upon his features. "Do you remember how you stayed with me the night? And when we woke up together, what was it that we spoke about?"

Immediately his eyes focused and sharpened as he began to sort through his memories for that particular conversation. He could see the shadows dancing in his irises, the way his thoughts circulated at a breakneck speed until he finally murmured, "I…wanted to know if there was anything you wanted me to do because I felt useless just sitting there with you. I…"

Yugi raised a brow, slightly challenging but with a gentle enough expression that it made Yami resist the urge to flinch away. But it didn't keep him from lowering his eyes again and biting his lip as he reached up to rub the back of his head.

"I'm doing it again."

He would have laughed if it was not so heart-wrenching to see him in such a state beside him. The statement was usually comical when it came out of his mouth. He'd said it before when he'd forgotten to show his work on his math sheets. He'd said it when he'd thought he had not put enough work into his essays. It was usually said with wide eyes and a startled huff and then a sneer when Yugi would snicker at his reaction. But now it was just a miserable sight, the way Yami seemed almost to fold into himself with the realization that he was repeating something he had tried formerly to stop.

"It's okay."

"No, it's really not."

Yugi frowned, not because he disagreed, but because he felt helpless. What was there that he could tell him? To put to words that he didn't have to sleep with him in order to stay at the house with him seemed incredibly demeaning. Yet, it was obvious that Yami felt that way. But to address it out loud? He thought he would rather puke.

But what had he done to make him feel that he had to solicit himself to him so constantly? They had slept in the same bed without sex before. They had done it numerous times. Not nearly as many as they'd fooled around and passed out from exhaustion. But they had still done it. They had slept next to each other and done nothing but that.

Hell, when he had first realized that Duke was involved with the scheme that had nearly gotten them both killed, he'd slept in the same bed as him. Yami had been worried about him walking home at such a late hour and Yugi had refused to let him walk him home if he would not stay for similar reasons. So they had lay in the taller teen's bed, falling asleep together until Yugi had woken him and then coaxed him back to sleep before taking his leave.

If Yami could let him sleep in the same bed as him even when the rumor was circulating that he had slept around with Duke, then he shouldn't feel the need to solicit him like this. If he could lie next to him when his grandpa had his heart attack and answer the phone late at night when he called him, then why would he think that he had to do this now?

What had he done to make him think that he had to…?

Was it when he had teased him about phone sex? Or video sex?

He nearly cringed. Fuck, what had he done to his boyfriend's psyche by teasing him like that? What had he done to his sense of self-worth?

Oh gods…

"Yugi, relax," Yami muttered, startling him enough to make his eyes snap to attention on the taller teen. He was staring at him, eyes boring into his, and the way he held his gaze made Yugi's heart skip slightly with a sense of perverse excitement. It was not bedroom eyes or even the smallest hint of lust which peered back at him. But somehow it made the smaller teen feel a sense of appreciation and affection surge through him. "You didn't do anything wrong. I…I've just been feeling really…useless lately, I guess. It's not…I promise it's not your fault, little one."

There was a small trill of excitement at the nickname. But it did not stop him from frowning as he muttered, "Useless? Why?"

He faltered, a shadow flickering across his gaze. It was something small, secretive, but it lingered a moment too long to be his suspicion taking on a new form in the other boy's eyes. "I just…have," he finally replied, his shrug halfhearted as his eyes lowered again. "I don't know why."

Except he did.

It was the nightmares.

It was the way Atem would not leave him alone.

It was the way the Puzzle burned sometimes with foreboding when he touched it.

It was the warning Ishizu had given him hours before.

It was the way the cards always showed the same—Osiris, Ra, Obelisk, Angel of Silence Doma, Red Eyes Black Dragon, Silver Fang.

It was the way that every shadow had begun to make him jump.

It was the way he felt like someone was watching him.

It was the way the school seemed to suffocate him.

It was the way his cousins were pushed to the side in his desperation to figure it all out.

It was the way that he felt his mother and father like some kind of extension of him now.

It was the way he kept checking the news, feeling sick and small.

He nearly shuddered, then shook the impulse away. He also did not think that his misery and self-hatred were growing to unprecedented amounts. Nor that his anxiety was coming in waves and his head was beginning to ache at times.

"Oh."

Yami blinked and looked up at him, almost desperate to have said such things out loud. Maybe Yugi could help him somehow. But he also dreaded the very idea. And he was helping him—just being there was help enough. His very presence was like a soothing balm to some of the ache that made his soul feel shredded.

But it was not enough.

And Yami was never going to try to push him into supporting a burden he could not stand to put on his shoulders. And, if he could not face it himself, why should he try to make Yugi do it?

Yugi hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Are you still depressed?"

He nearly cringed, but sighed instead. "I don't think I've ever truly not been," he admitted quietly. "I just never noticed it because it was so constant. But it's…gotten worse and that's why I noticed it. But it's not…to the point that I need medicine or anything. I just…I'm mopey."

He frowned at him, eyes suspicious and mouth drawn into a curt line of uncertainty. "Do you think at some point that you might end up needing it?"

Yami blinked, then swallowed hard. "If I do, I promise I'll go and get an appointment with a psychiatrist. I…I don't like being this way."

It was a punch in the gut that winded him for a second. And it was something that he knew without even asking that he couldn't truly help him with. Beyond supporting his decision to get help, there was nothing he could do. And he did not know how much use that would be to Yami in the first place. Telling him he loved him every day did not seem like it would miraculously help him to feel better.

And he doubted he could do much else.

He almost rolled his eyes. The doctors would tell him to do that exactly. Be patient, remind him that he's loved, and hope for the best, basically. But he'd also heard antidepressants made the person taking them want to commit suicide. And he knew Yami was not that far gone. Even in the fire, when he had collapsed at the bottom of the stairs, sprawled out and nearly dead, he had not been suicidal. He had fought to get away from those people, going as far as to attack and—he knew without asking—kill them in order to escape. He had struggled and fought until he truly couldn't anymore. And somehow he had still come out of it okay.

He was still struggling with the maintenance of the after-effects, like his wounds and possible nightmares, but he was listening to the doctors. He did the lung exercises they stressed he needed. He washed soot from his lungs using any method they described. He drank that disgusting grapefruit seed extraction he had to put in juice. He took the antibiotics, though Yugi had to sometimes remind and then force him to.

He tried. And for the most part he was successful.

He wasn't suicidal yet.

Yugi wondered what his tipping point might be.

He hoped to the gods that it wasn't him.

"It'll be okay." The words tasted bitter in his mouth, too hollow to truly support the misguided attempt at comfort they were supposed to be. It made his head ring with disdain towards himself. He almost sighed. "I'll help you through it."

Yami watched him, eyes sharp and almost predatory as they bore into his, and then he nodded mutely, turning away again. There were no more words to be said, and so they lapsed into silence.


	6. Free Will

**Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Yu-Gi-Oh**

 **Update Schedule: I'm going to try for every Wednesday (wish me luck)**

 **Story Warning: Cursing will go from mild to excessive at times, depending on the character speaking and the situation they're in (I don't think they'll curse nearly as much as they did in _Simple_ though)**

 **Okay, just so we're all on the same page, updates are DEFINITELY going to slow down. I've hit a kind of...roadblock in life. Not just writer's block, but like everything else too for the moment. So updates for this story will definitely slow down after chapter seven. After chapter seven I am at a complete loss as to how to keep making the story go forward. Why? Because of said roadblock. Time is getting eaten away and I'm losing track of it and most other things. I need to figure out something (and I'm nothing if not good at adapting and rolling with the punches) so it shouldn't take too terribly long, honestly. But be patient and I'll definitely try to get it updated as quickly as possible.**

 **ALSO! So, free warning, the next chapter has BDSM elements to it (Yugi tying Yami up). And, no it is not going to be _Fifty Shades_ kind of crap either. With all due respect, I wanted to make the scene as realistic as possible, so safe words galore, knot checking, and checking in every now and then. So, remember that, because it's not going to be some random flogging session or Yami having "the most intense orgasm ever". Why do I know that's in that book? Because I'm reading a HILARIOUS blog with recaps of the chapters and it is AWESOME not reading it myself. I think the grammar and other things would have driven me crazy. Not to say that the book isn't good in its own right; if you like it, you do. All the respect to you. But I tried reading it once, got through four pages, and just could NOT go back to it. EVER. So, again, unlike the apparent relationship in that series, Yugi and Yami have a safe word that they pick out together, check the knots on his wrists, check in, and Yugi DOES NOT "punish" Yami for whatever reason. If said BDSM elements freak anybody out, that's why this warning is here in this one as well. There will be another warning next week for chapter seven too. And I will give more detail on it in that chapter than this one, to make sure that no one gets squeamish or thinks that Yugi is going to be some kind of tyrant of a dominant LOL. **

**Warnings that apply to THIS chapter though? Yami's going to become both more neurotic and extremely withdrawn as the chapters go by (particularly in this and the next). He's losing grip and it's going to be horrifying when it blows up later. So, free warning for that one too. Keep in mind that I DID tell you his descent was going to be ABRUPT. This is HOW abruptly he's going to start. This chapter shows a good amount of it (but it WILL get worse). Also, teasing about spanking (just like in the last chapter).**

 **This chapter is posted early because I have a LOT to do tomorrow and I don't really think I'll have time to do it until WAY late at night and I think I'll be too tired by then to bother.**

Chapter VI: Free Will

The room was too dark. Yami glanced about himself but the darkness made his skin crawl. For a split second he wondered at the idea of blood painting the walls. But the shadows across its usually bright blue surface were tree branches rather than arches of bright red. He drew in a shaky breath and moved to sit up. Yugi was still passed out beside him and, at some point in the night, he had rolled over onto his side to face away from him. He could see his flanks moving with every breath and the sight of it was comforting, but it did nothing to banish the lost feeling creeping through him. His stomach tossed and he looked away from him, though, for the smallest of seconds, his fingers ached to thread through his hair. Maybe if he touched him, felt that he was truly real, he would not feel such panic so deep inside of his lungs.

Yet there was nothing to banish the ache which swelled inside of him. He cast a glance towards the tree outside. The branches were long and thin at eye level, but the ones higher up were a lot thicker and stronger. He closed his eyes. He wondered if anyone had tried to climb and perch on one for another shot of them screwing around. The paparazzi had faded after the initial scandal but he was not always surprised to see that there was a new image of them together somewhere.

More than once he had found people talking about the Duel Monsters World Champion, arguing about whether he was confused or not and simply experimenting with Yugi. Others were furious that the person they had held so high on a pedestal was—as he was so often called growing up—a "faggot". He had stumbled across a site positively dedicated to him because now they had a face to match to the title when formerly no one had been able to do more than get pixelated images. His father had been adamant that if he were to participate in the game, no one was to know what he looked like properly.

He narrowed his eyes. He still did not understand such logic. His father had been proud to boast that his son was smarter than the rest, that he was a strategist of epic proportions. He had _been the one to force him to play_. He had been the one to _force him to win the championship and the God cards_.

He felt his fingers twitch and his eyes flickered towards the window again. He had stumbled across a picture at one point of Yugi sitting with him, the two of them on the bed. He recognized the conversation they had been having only by the shirt he had been wearing. When Yugi wore shirts outside of school, without the stupid uniform, it was easier to remember basically any pivotal conversation to an almost exact time and moment. The black Duel Monsters shirt with a picture of the Magnet Warriors had been apparent in the shot.

They had been talking about Tamagachi pets, something that Yami had known nothing about. Yugi had started off saying that maybe he might play Digimon at some point, completely cut through Pokemon. Apparently the idea of evolving permanently had always made him roll his eyes. But somehow he had started in talking about how Digimon had started out as a Tamagachi game, where your monster was born from an egg and you had to raise it. His had always died when he had tried with the Digimon, but for regular Tamagachi, he had been able to raise one for a long four years.

The picture itself had been incredibly innocent and he had been stunned to realize that someone would even want it. When he had stumbled across it, he had been dry-mouthed and confused. The feedback had been relatively positive, however, and he'd been confused and lost by how easily people seemed to accept that perhaps they really _were_ more than an attempt to make a name for a family that had mostly fallen off the face of the planet. The entire scandal had been so large it had drawn a good many places into argument over everything going on.

He picked at his nails with his teeth now. They had taken the shot from the window. They had climbed that tree, waiting for something to take a shot of. And they had gotten Yami's startled, innocent wide-eyed and confused expression and Yugi's calm and patient grin, friendly and warm as he looked at him.

Yami watched a branch sway in a gentle wind. Then he glanced at Yugi. He wondered if anyone had ever snuck up while they were asleep. He wondered how much of Yugi's privacy he had truly destroyed. If they had never interacted, he was sure that none of them would have been brave enough to encroach on his personal life. He was a terror at school when someone wronged him. He'd set people up like dominos and completely embarrass and destroy reputations. He kicked ass when he was forced to.

Yami sighed softly, the noise shaky, and then looked down at his fingers again. Blood was welling up beneath his nail. He'd bitten too low into his nail bed. He rolled his eyes. Yugi was still sound asleep, but he knew he wasn't going to join him at any rate. He ran a hand through his hair, tired and frustrated, and then looked away and closed his eyes tightly. If he stayed there with him through the night, he would just end up tossing and turning and eventually waking him up.

If he left, however, he knew he would have to leave him a note or at least _something_ to explain his disappearance. After seeing how easily he had assumed his leaving for breakfast to be him sneaking out and breaking up with him without words, there was no way he would fail in doing so. He hesitated, watching the smaller teen for a moment. He hated doing this to him so often…

But he didn't want to wake him. And he didn't want to have to explain just how pathetic he was that he could not even fall asleep after one nightmare. He shook his head, watching him a moment longer, then moved slowly to step onto the floor. The carpet was so plush that it did nothing to make any noise, the fibers absorbing the gentle addition of his weight. He sighed quietly again, glancing at him over his shoulder, then moved towards the door. He hovered, wondering if he should go back, possibly to kiss his temple and tell him he loved him or to just check on him.

But the thought of either made him feel sick.

If he woke him up, he would have to explain himself.

And he didn't think he was capable of doing such a thing.

Yami padded as quietly and quickly as he could towards the door, opening it, and then stepped outside. He did not close it completely behind him, somehow sure that the noise of it clicking into place would wake the smaller boy.

A light was on in the kitchen, however. He frowned, padding towards it now, and wondered for a moment if he should perhaps grab and change into his clothes from the day before. It would be a good idea not to steal his boyfriend's clothes, he was sure. He hummed in the back of his throat, then stepped foot onto the tiled floor.

"Yugi?"

Yami faltered, then glanced over towards the table, blinking. Solomon sat at the chair furthest in the room, eyes bright with excitement for whatever reason. The taller teen stiffened when they locked gazes. He had not expected his grandfather to be home as of yet. He glanced around for a split second, eyes flickering to the microwave. Yugi had about an hour before his alarm would have regularly gone off. That gave him about two hours before he would have to go to school.

He looked back to him. His excited expression had morphed into one of startled surprise.

"Yami," he muttered, blinking. He sat up a little more, then gave him something of a small, friendly grin of amusement. "I should have realized it would be you instead of him. He's been sleeping like a rock ever since we went to the states. He could sleep through a murder if he wanted to."

He tilted his head and offered him something of a strained smile. "Hello, Solomon," he greeted him, somewhat cautious. After their last couple of conversations, he was not altogether thrilled to see him, though he would not say he harbored any ill feelings either. He was rather tired, however, and it put him further on edge. He wondered if he could see the bags beneath his eyes now. "How are you?"

The elderly Motou shot him something of a puzzled look, as if he could read the real questions behind his words. _When did you get in_? _Why are you here right now_? _Did Yugi tell you I would be here_? _Did he tell you about what happened earlier_? _Did he tell you anything about me_?

"You look…distressed."

"I'm not feeling too great."

They blinked at each other. Then Yami looked away to the microwave again and back and Solomon sat up a little straighter, eyes sharp but not unfriendly.

"You were planning to leave."

He frowned, tilting his head. "I can't sleep. And I have a rather important test to take today," he replied in a calm tone, though something inside of him felt frigid and lined in ice. "I woke up a little while ago and decided I would go to school—"

"But you didn't originally plan to."

"I did. I just have more of a reason to leave now than I do in an hour like I originally planned."

Solomon shook his head. "You know, I can't boast that I see beyond your poker face, but I will say that you are _not_ doing so well with it right now," he commented in a dry tone, sighing softly. "But I can't detect where the lie is in your statement. So I suppose I'll have to take you at your word for now."

Yami rolled his eyes. "How perceptive of you," he drawled, huffing in annoyance. "But I'm not going to have this conversation with you right now. I'm exhausted and I have to get home to get ready for school."

"You get snarky when you're tired." He was laughing but the teen's first impulse was to immediately apologize and look away, submissive to whatever punishment he might deal out for his harsher words. He couldn't understand why he was faltering so hard, why everything was sweeping in _now_. Was it the stress? Was it a warning of some kind? Was his body just falling back into former survival routines? He could barely breathe for a moment as he watched him, stricken by the idea. What was he supposed to do now? "Are you all right?"

He hadn't realized his hands were shaking. "No," he muttered under his breath. _Definitely not_. Louder, however, he murmured, "Yes, I'm fine. I just…I get shaky when I'm tired."

"You look like you're about to puke."

 _I'm scared_ … "Your intimidation tactics are working well."

Solomon snorted loudly, then grinned at him as Yami raised a brow and forced himself to look more relaxed. "Me? Intimidate _you_? Oh, please, boy. You're the most intimidating person in this house."

He faltered, startled, and his eyes grew thrice their regular size, mouth opening slightly in surprise. Was he the most intimidating thing in the house at the moment? That made no sense. Was it the Puzzle that made them react to him in any manner that bordered fear? Was it something else? He was hardly intimidating. He was probably the easiest person to push over.

Yugi at least had fire to him, even if he did sometimes fold without reason.

He himself…?

He just folded most often. Not because it was easiest, but because he couldn't help it.

 _Conditioning_ …

He nearly quaked.

 _Fuck_. "I don't know about that," he forced himself to say calmly, amazed that his voice did not shake and falter and flutter away like a leaf in the wind. He breathed in raggedly through his nose, but Solomon was so busy paying attention to his eyes— _he's reading me, he's trying to understand, he's going to find out_ —that he did not notice. "I'm hardly intimidating. You should meet Seto or Bakura or Malik. _They_ are intimidating."

"And they're all very loud and boastful about it," the elderly Motou cut in with something like clear disdain. "They project it with all the force they can. You…you're silent and stealthy. No one realizes they've angered you until it's a moment too late. And by then you're taller and more physically present. And your silence is one of the most unnerving things about you."

Yami had the impulse to apologize. His head was spinning.

"But, I suppose that's what Yugi probably likes about you."

"Huh?"

"You've got one of the most conflicting personalities to his." He hummed and smirked at him playfully. "You're still standing here when he would have lost his temper, snapped at me, and wandered off by now. You're still here, looking shaky and confused, and aside from being snarky a moment ago, you haven't even bothered to snap yet."

Yami nearly swayed for a split second. Fuck, he needed to get out of here…

"I've had more practice," he stated simply, eyes flickering towards the laundry room. He could make it over there, but he hardly imagined he would make it _out_ again. Instead he headed for the fridge, snatching at the notepad pinned to it, and grabbed a pen from where the cup of them rested nearby. He scribbled a quick note onto its surface, surprised that he managed to write neatly when his hand was shaking so violently, then threw it onto the fridge again. "Can you make sure he gets this? I'm going to go to back and get ready to go school."

"Why not just text him when you get to school?"

"It seems better to leave him a note here and then text him just in case." He glanced at him sideways, then hurried to make his way down the stairs and out the door.

* * *

"Okay, Atem," he called quietly, unnerved by the idea of raising his voice. His phone vibrated with a confirmation text that his note _I decided I would head to school. I have a big test to take in history_ had sent. He looked around himself, cupping the Puzzle in his palms, and his stomach ached as the seconds passed. But when he turned around he nearly yelped. "You stupid _fuck_!"

The pharaoh grinned at him playfully, then stepped around him, eyes bright with laughter. "I can't help that you're so high strung right now," he teased, tilting his head and smiling at him before frowning moments later. "Although, I do not like to see you in such a state. What is it that has you so upset?"

"You know damn well why I am so stressed out right now."

Atem gave him something of a guilty look, then sighed softly. "The witch came to see you." His head tilted again and he looked almost flustered and confused as they studied each other. Yami shook his head, eyes narrowing into slits, and the spirit frowned thoughtfully. "I was not sure that she would do so. Regardless, however, I am sure you're more upset that I have not spoken to you as of late about all of this…"

He scowled at him. "What gave you _that_ impression?"

"That look on your face right now," he said with a grin, trying to soothe his nerves. When he failed to so much as blink, the spirit sighed softly again. "Look, Yami, I am unsure of what you wish to hear from me. I am sorry. But I have warned you and when you did not listen, I suspected that the girl might find you instead. I thought that perhaps you would listen to her if you would not me."

"But it happens tomorrow! And no one told me. You did not think to tell me?"

"No, tomorrow is when you must go to Egypt again. Tomorrow night is when it happens."

Yami shivered. "That makes a big difference," he spat.

"It gives you more time to tend to Yugi, does it not?" Atem hesitated, watching him, and the fire in his eyes made him back up a step, startled by the ferocity to greet him there. "Do not be angry with me, Yami. You were not listening and I had no other means of making you regard my warning with more importance. I am sorry."

He paused, at first ready to snarl at him angrily, but then halted and stared at him in response. He truly had not been paying him as much attention as the situation warranted. But what was he meant to do? He was so exhausted and everything was so stressful. And why did everything have to happen to him?

He nearly groaned under his breath. "Ishizu said it was the Puzzle. And she said 'he'. Who is 'he'?" he asked shakily, facing the spirit with wide eyes. "I don't understand…"

He shook his head slowly. "I cannot tell you. I am able to help and to guide you, but I cannot give you the answers. If I were to do so, your decisions in life would not be your own. You would no longer have free will. And that is something that goes against everything life is."

Yami studied him for a moment, then looked away again. "Free will?" he echoed quietly. Free will? What was free about _this_? He was being forced to go back to Egypt to deal with whoever "he" was, just so that he could save Yugi. There was nothing _free_ about it! There was no free will involved! His hand was being forced. He was being _forced_ to go back to his homeland, his _childhood house_. He nearly lurched over, his stomach tossing. The impact of it winded him for a moment. His head throbbed. He reached up to rub at his temples. His throat felt tight and his heart was beating too quickly. He couldn't think anymore…

"It surely does not seem like that, I know, but believe me when I say that there is always a choice." His phantom hand touched him in a prickle of ice and then soothing warmth. Yami startled and looked at it for a moment, then curled his lip back. "You realize that I would never have even been put in this position if I hadn't solved that fucking Puzzle."

"You would also be dead." Atem raised a brow almost dismissively. "And shall we even go into the details of what Yugi's life might have become?"

"I don't impact it that much—" He fell silent, catching himself. Then he faltered again and swallowed hard. Yugi had nearly curled up with him in that warehouse, at his side, just so that they could suffocate in that fire together. If that didn't say that he had impacted his life, he didn't know what might. He drew in a deep breath and shook his head. "What I mean is…until this year, I never impacted his life at all."

"Do you truly believe that?" the pharaoh snorted, shaking his head with a roll of his eyes. He withdrew his hand and moved to perch himself elegantly on the armrest of the couch, crossing his legs. He looked like an impatient child, but his clothes were too sharp and his expression too tired. "He was always hyperaware of you. You just never noticed. And he never let you see it."

"Huh?"

Atem rolled his eyes again. "Perhaps you should ask him about that yourself. I am not Yugi. I cannot explain his fascination with you. I can just tell you that it always existed, from the moment he saw you." He shrugged and looked at the gold plating around his stomach for a moment. When he traced his fingers over it, Yami stiffened faintly at the gleam that came from the soft metal. "I forgot how constricting metal can be."

"What?" Yami huffed. "You're a ghost. You don't feel anything."

His eyes flashed, violet specks glittering against the red. "You are not worth the dirt on my shoes when you're irritated," he growled, sniffing disdainfully and looking at his nails when the teen flushed brilliantly and his mouth opened and closed pathetically in shock at the reprimand. "I should make note of that for the next time we crossed paths and you become unhappy."

"I…I'm sorry, Atem…"

"Oh yes, I am sure you are." The pharaoh ignored him for a moment longer. Then he got to his feet and shook his head as he paced forward a few steps. "Oh, don't look at me like that, little star."

There was a moment of lost recognition. Yami stared at him in a way that highlighted his dismissal of the nickname and showed his frustration that he had given him one such as that. But then he blinked. And his eyes grew wide in shock.

"Oh…"

Atem snickered in amusement. "You did not truly think the first time I made contact with you was in that warehouse," he teased. "I am the one who took over when your neighbor tried to kidnap you. Surely you did not assume it was just the Puzzle to do it."

He opened and closed his mouth, then ducked his head. "Oh wow, this makes a lot more sense…" He ran a hand through his hair. He had forgotten the nickname. When he was younger, he'd thought he had had an imaginary friend, one that only responded when he had the Puzzle. When he had finished it at six years old, he'd welcomed it. But his father had come to know about it somehow. He blamed it on one of the maids, had always assumed that one of them had told him after seeing him talking to someone that they couldn't see. Then he had wondered, curious and uneasy, if he had come to realize it on his own, if he had known that he would see the darkness as a person rather than a magic. He tapped his nails against his scalp, fingers warmed by the strands of hair trapped between them.

The first time he had used the nickname, Yami had demanded to know why he called him that. And he remembered the very clear answer of "Because you're the brightest soul I've ever seen". He had not been unnerved then by the response, instead thinking it strange. Now he looked at Atem and wondered at the statement. Because, surely, Atem had not truly meant that. He was far from a bright person. His heart was hardly light any longer. He'd lost his childish innocence long ago…

Back then Atem had been nothing more than his shadow. When he was younger, that was all he had shown himself as. It was only when Pegasus and Arkana had kidnapped him that Yami had seen him for the first time as he was. After he had masqueraded as both Mokuba and Yugi in his memories, he had finally shown himself. Yami had demanded it of him, had snapped at him that he was not Yugi. He had not been expecting to find a pharaoh, least of all the one that he was _named after_ , but it had happened all the same.

"We're getting off topic…"

The phantom blinked, then tilted his head. "I was not aware we ever truly on one," he scoffed softly before shaking his head slowly and offering him a gentle smile. "Tell me, little star, what is it that you think I can tell you? I have already explained that free will dictates I do not interfere too greatly…"

Yami paused and his cheeks felt cold and flushed, his skin hot and clammy. He swallowed hard, then tilted his head as he looked at him more pointedly. "If I am being forced back to Egypt in order to keep Yugi from being murdered, how exactly does that apply to the concept of free will, Atem?"

"Because you are always free not to."

Yami blinked and then stared at him, his heart shattering in his chest.

* * *

He showed up at the game shop later that day, before school had ended. Yugi was seated behind the counter, playing on his phone while his grandpa swept the floor and chided him playfully. The two of them looked easy and happy, so serene that Yami nearly backed out before he could fully open the door. But then he pushed on the glass barrier of it and the bell rang and his heart skipped and Yugi looked up and Solomon smirked at him and everything seemed to become so much more intense. He breathed in roughly, then exhaled, and offered the only smile he could think to, though he knew it must have looked as strained as it felt. He swallowed hard.

"Hey, we were just talking about you," Yugi snorted playfully. He pointed his phone at his grandpa and winked at him. "The giezer thinks that you can't count."

Solomon jabbed him in the side with the broom handle. The teen burst out laughing and swatted at it to push him back. "Don't disrespect your grandfather like that. I can still spank you."

"Actually, that's kind of my job now," Yami interjected, trying to sound as lighthearted as they did and wondering at his success. They both seemed to freeze for a moment to stare at him, Yugi bright red and Solomon laughing heartily.

"This boy is _great_."

"You should see when he spanks me," Yugi scoffed, smirking when Yami blushed brilliantly and shot him a flustered look. He got to his feet and stretched his arms out in front of him, grinning cheekily at his boyfriend. "Anyways, Grandpa says that you didn't count one of the booster packs properly. He's sure there were thirteen instead of twelve."

Yami raised a brow with something of a confused look before nodding slightly. "No, he's right." He hummed in the back of his throat and pulled his backpack around to dig into one of the pockets. He handed over a bill. "I opened it when I was bored."

The smaller teen stiffened and studied him for a moment, his smile falling completely. His grandpa studied the bill in his hand, frowning, and then slowly took it from him. "You opened it when you were bored?" he echoed in a slow drawl, the suspicion clear in his tone. His boyfriend shrugged with a nod. His grandpa moved to look in the cash drawer for a moment.

"Go ahead and keep the change," he mumbled, not bothering to truly face Solomon for the moment. "I don't need it."

Had he not known that Yami simply did it because he did not want to deal with the issue of change, Yugi might have bristled at the dismissive tone. The idea that someone was giving him more money than necessary had always rubbed him the wrong way. Especially when the change was more than a few dollars…

"Are you sure?" the elderly Motou demanded, voice somewhat sharp. Yami glanced at him now, raising a brow in confusion at the edge to his tone. "I can break it."

"I really don't care for the change," the red-eyed teen stated evenly, though his eyes had lit with challenge. When Solomon arched a brow, his back straightened the tiniest bit more. "It's fine."

Yugi decided to break the tension. "You know, Yami, if you really want to give him a gift, you could always buy him his next blow up doll," he stated cheekily. He immediately ducked away when Solomon swatted at him, though the old man was laughing and Yugi was grinning ear to ear.

"I'll keep that in mind," Yami snorted, chuckling as Yugi got to his side and moved to position him between the two Motou's just in case. He turned his head and looked at him, rolling his eyes. "Can we talk?"

The laughter immediately drained from his eyes. A fidget twitched across his right hand for a moment. They looked at each other, to which Yugi drew in a deep breath and nodded shortly. "Grandpa, we're going upstairs."

"Keep the noise down."

His cheeks heated before he turned to him with a brow raised. "You mean I shouldn't use those microphones you put in my room just a couple of days ago?"

Yami's eyes grew owlish with horror. Solomon grabbed a coin from beside the register and tossed it at him. Yugi ducked, laughing, and tugged his boyfriend up the stairs with him. But his amusement was gone the moment they stepped up into the living apartments and he shut the door behind them. His face was serious, his eyes darkened with nerves, when he turned to him again.

"Okay, so what's up?"

Yami hesitated for a long moment, opening and closing his mouth, and his cheeks heated pathetically. How was he supposed to say this? He struggled to think, then shook his head and groaned.

"Judging by the look on your face, I'm thinking that you meant to ask about this." He turned and trotted off into his room before the other boy could think to answer him. Yami watched the closed door for what felt like hours before Yugi returned. His face was on fire when he noticed the addition he had brought with him and his stomach knotted with tension as he looked at the smooth black fibers.

 _Shit_.

Apparently Yugi knew him a little too well…

Yami stared at it for a long minute. Then he backed up a step, nodding a little, and blinked stupidly. He reached a hand up, rubbing at the back of his head, and drew in a small breath before narrowing his eyes faintly. His mind struggled with the concept for a brief moment as he considered it a little bit longer. Yugi had not lied when he had told him he was going to go and get the rope from the shop while he was at school.

He nearly snorted with laughter but instead found his lungs too tight, rasping out, "I thought maybe you were joking…"

Yugi rolled his eyes and stretched the length of it for a moment. It was a soft, bungee material, gentle enough that it would not scathe his skin but firm enough that Yami would not be able to get out of it once he secured it.

"Not. At. All," he snickered. He raised his head again, his smile falling away immediately. He frowned and tilted his head. The other boy wasn't exactly pale, but he did not look nearly overjoyed by the sight of it either. "Look, you _do_ realize that I am not going to _force_ you into this, right?"

Yami shook his head. "I didn't think you would," he said without thought, huffing a second later as he continued studying it. "I just realized though, the last time we did anything with restraints, it was in the dark. And I…I couldn't see you when you were doing anything. This time…I don't think I can do that. I need…we can't use blindfolds."

"I said _tie up_ , not _bondage freak night_ ," the smaller teen scoffed, though his tone was gentle around his displeased, slightly nervous laughter. He smiled at him when Yami looked up at him with pursed lips and furrowed brows. "No blindfolds, whips, chains, literally nothing _but_ being tied up."

He studied the rope again for a moment. Then he glanced at Yugi's bedroom door again, contemplating. He moved to drop his backpack, kicking it towards the doorway as he looked more closely at the rope. His breath came out in a gentle wheeze before he shook his head. Yugi wouldn't hurt him. He had proven that on numerous occasions. " _Only_ rope?" he repeated cautiously, a shiver tracing its way down his spine. He had teased him about tying him up before, knowing that the smaller boy would probably enjoy the opportunity. It was also a way for him to stretch just how far his boundaries went, if he could push some of his walls away. But his dreams had been sporadic and drastic throughout the night, terrors of which he had mindlessly flailed at and cried out against when he'd woken drenched in sweat. Thank the gods Yugi had not been there with him. They had decided since he had to go to school, they would sleep at their own houses.

The dreams were getting so much worse though. Was it possible that Ishizu had been right? That if this person killed his parents, they would turn on Yugi in order to get to him? Did they truly want the Puzzle so badly?

"Did you want to play with the handcuffs again, Yami?"

He blinked, confused, and then blushed furiously before scowling at him. "No, thanks. I think I've had enough of metal anywhere on me, thanks," he grumbled. "Unless it's the Puzzle. But I'm not really interested in getting kinky with your grandmother's police cuffs again, thanks."

Yugi snickered, then raised a brow at his skeptical expression. "Do you want a safe word?" he asked now, voice both teasing and incredibly serious, his eyes searching his rapidly for assurance that he hadn't overstepped somehow.

For a moment the thought of one made his stomach flush with ice. Then he nodded immediately, choking, "Yes…" before feeling his face heat slightly with shame. He tugged at the sleeves of his uniform jacket, nails digging into the fabric as he squeezed an uneven breath into his lungs.

"Okay."

He pulled on the fabric a little harder, eyes flickering to his face. "What kind of rope is that?" he finally murmured. It looked almost delicate, like a ribbon, but it seemed to be corded as well…

"Japanese bondage rope."

He scowled at him, immediately flustered as he snapped, "Yugi, I know what we're using it for. I asked—"

"That's what it's called, stupid," he bit out in response, pausing and flushing when he realized how quickly Yami had fallen into a startled expression. They hadn't truly snapped at each other or raised their voices in a while, but he supposed the stress was accumulating for Yami and that made him more likely to lash out in that quiet verbal manner of his. He faltered, eyes apologetic, but the smaller teen ignored it gracefully, instead stretching the rope out again. "It's a hemp blend. It works well when you twist and jerk."

He felt his breath shudder out of his chest, eyes wide. He had gone through survival camp, forced to his very limits in order to escape certain situations. He had figured out how to break out of knots or handcuffs in nanoseconds. He was quick on his feet when it came to getting away from things. But this…

"We really don't have to do this, you realize that, don't you?" Yugi asked, voice gentle as he tilted his head and looked at him curiously. "I mean, we can wait or I can just return it and—"

"No, no, we will try it," he breathed out with a shake of his head, cutting him off. He tugged harder on his sleeve and the pressure built on his shoulder for a moment. The way it pulled at his limbs was somehow soothing at the moment. "I don't mind as long as we have a safe word. Otherwise you can go off and find someone _else_ to play with."

Yugi rolled his eyes but nodded and made sure that their gazes were locked when he continued. "It's over the moment you say the safe word," he swore, nodding again when Yami looked almost skeptical and bit his lip harshly. They looked at each other until the taller teen faltered and again returned his eyes to the rope in his hand.

"No arguments, ifs, ands, or buts?"

 _Duh_. "None at all."

"Okay…" He nodded a few more times, then raised his eyes to his again. "So what is it?"

Yugi blinked stupidly at him, furrowing his brows immediately after and staring at him with an expression of complete bewilderment. "What? You expected _me_ to have one?" he sputtered, shaking his head slowly. "Yami, it wouldn't mean anything if I was the only one to come up with it."

He faltered, eyes widening. He supposed that made sense. If they weren't both aware of it and its meaning, then of course that would not work. Yugi watched him with that same startled expression before his face slowly folded into a frown. Had he truly expected him to argue or something against a safe word? Fuck, if Yami hadn't thought to mention it, he would have forced one on him regardless. He didn't want to hurt him somehow and Yami was always far too willing to seemingly jump through hoops for him. It would never have surprised him if he even forced himself to go through this without a safe word just to make him feel better.

"Um…"

"How about banana?" He said it as a joke, watching the other wrinkle his nose and furrow his brows in distaste. "There's something you don't hear in the bedroom that often."

"I'm sure, actually, that it's used a lot."

Yugi couldn't help but snort at the quip. "Oh shut up."

"And, no, I would get hungry if I was trying to remember banana as the safe word."

He raised a brow, scoffing, "You don't even _like_ bananas."

"And that's why it would make me hungry. Because then I would want something _better_ to eat."

"You're so weird." He rolled his eyes and shook his head with a smirk. "But, then again, if you don't seriously work up an appetite after we're done, then I _obviously_ haven't been doing it right."

Yami scoffed and crossed his arms. "I think you'd still manage to fuck me right regardless," he snorted, though the word tasted strange in his mouth. He wondered how long it had been since he'd used it to describe their time together. He had never been one for dirty talk, so it would make sense that it would cause him to cringe. "But now I am getting a little hungry."

"Do you want to eat first then?"

He rolled his eyes. "I'm not _that_ hungry, no."

"At this rate, hungry should be our safe word."

"Uh, no, that's just not going to happen. Thanks for the suggestion anyways though."

Yugi snorted, smiling. "Fine. Well, there's always 'ouch!' said loud and _with feeling_."

He scowled, pursing his lips and then smirking when the smaller boy winked at him playfully. "Oh, yes, why thank you, Yugi," he teased, wrinkling his nose at him again before turning away and shaking his head. "There has to be something…"

"How about just plain 'stop' then?"

"No…I…I have a feeling I'm going to be saying that regardless."

The crushed expression and tone made his heart hurt for a moment before the blue-violet-eyed teen licked his lips and turned it elsewhere. "You read my mind," he purred, his voice lilting playfully so that Yami looked up from beneath his lashes with a smirk.

"Red?"

"…I don't want to associate your eyes with our safe word." He paused. "Platypus?"

"No, thank you. I'll always think of playpuses tied to beds."

"That's awkward. I knew you had a thing for animals."

"I hate you."

Yugi snickered and shook his head. "This is getting kind of complicated."

"…Sorry."

He rolled his eyes. "I wasn't trying to make you feel guilty."

Yami looked at him from beneath his lashes, but that tired note which had come across his voice was still visible there in his irises. "Okay, so something simple and easy to understand, right? No foreign words or anything like that. Short word, easy to get out if it's urgent…"

Yugi pretended to think, then nodded and held up a finger, the rope wrapped around it gently. " _Orangutan_."

" _Why_ the _fuck_ do you hate me _so_ much that you would _keep bringing that up_?" he spat, flustered, head snapping to attention at him as he scowled at him irritably. "Fucking asshole."

"It's _hilarious_!" he choked out, laughing. "It's _hilarious_ , Yami."

"It is _not_ funny!" he objected, eyes narrowing and face twisting into a firmer scowl. "It was _traumatizing_!"

"It may have been but it is also _hilarious_."

"I hate you."

"You _love_ me," Yugi cackled, the rope loosening in his hands. "Yami Sennen loves me, Yugi Motou!"

The taller boy smiled, unable to help himself, eyes lighting up with laughter and affection as he shook his head slightly. "I am done," he snorted, gaze so warm that the smaller boy almost melted into the embrace of them before standing straighter, eyes widening.

"That's it! Hello, safe word!"

He blinked. "Hmm?" he muttered, shaking his head and frowning. "What did I say?"

"Done, you dork," he teased, grinning widely. "We'll use done. Short, simple, to the point—and it's almost the _definition_ of a safe word!"

Yami blinked again, then smiled a bit more easily as he nodded. "That works." He hesitated, licking his lips, and his eyes flickered back to the rope in his hand. "H-how did you want to tie me up?"

Yugi raised a brow. "What are you comfortable with?"

 _None of it_. But that wasn't entirely true, he realized. He had let him handcuff him and give him a blowjob in the dark. He'd put aside several fears just because it was Yugi there in the room with him. So, perhaps he could…

"Arms—hands." He paused, a shudder passing through his mind abruptly as he remembered the cold chain he'd been tied to. They'd chained him all along his chest and legs. "We can't do legs."

He would rather die than have his legs restrained again.

Yugi nodded. "Okay, so what about the things you don't want me doing with you?" he asked easily, tilting his head at him. The taller boy blinked in confusion. "Like…"

There was a moment in which he blushed so brightly that Yami almost panicked, eyes wide. Was he choking or something? But the smaller boy merely ducked his head, scuffing his sneaker and coughing.

"Like foreplay? Spanking, dirty talk? Anything?" he spat out, reaching up to rub at the back of his head. "Feathers, fabrics, toys?"

He sputtered, eyes growing thrice their usual size, mouth opening and closing in horror for a moment. His own cheeks had grown bright red to mirror his as well. "I—w-what?" he choked. "I thought this was just being tied up!"

"It is!" he stressed, unable to lift his head. But his foot was moving in clear agitation as well. "I just mean, what do you want me to be sure not to do? Is there something I should avoid?"

He could not fully process the words for a moment. Then he finally swallowed thickly and lowered his eyes. "I, um…fuck…" He couldn't breathe for a moment, then awkwardly, he tugged on his sleeve until the arm of his jacket nearly slipped off of his shoulder. "I, uh…liked what you did when I was cuffed…"

Yugi struggled for a moment to recall it. What had he done exactly? It took him a moment, then he felt his head snapping up as his eyes grew wide. The blowjob? Yami had seemed so against them after that time. He had always said he didn't want one, that he would rather have sex with him than just oral.

It occurred to him for a moment, that that was the only time he had done it. And not once had Yami ever tried to reciprocate. The latter did not matter to him as much. It was more a drifting thought, but the former made his skin prickle.

"Okay, the blowjob…what else…?"

Yami opened his mouth to say that it wasn't just that. He wanted to mention that it was the way he had spoken so quietly, said such gentle words, but it felt abruptly too much like a weakness. So he swallowed the words, nodding in shame at his own momentary thought of pleasure. He had tried so hard so many times before then to consider what to say to him to maybe push the conversation in such a direction. And he had tried to do the same for him. But the images in his heads, and the voices that reared up whenever he thought to open his mouth made him falter.

So he was always dry-mouthed, staring at Yugi, wishing pathetically that somehow the smaller teen could sense it and draw him closer. He was feeling far too lonely, too weak, as of late. Atem's constant presence, the cards, the dreams…they all just pushed harder and harder, threatening to suffocate him. He wished he could hold the other as his lifeline. But he felt that Yugi might not understand the need.

And how was he to explain it?

He had such a hard time saying he loved him back. Sometimes he sounded as if he were choking when he whispered the words back. Yami always wondered, restless, and his stomach would ache as he would try to figure out if he was imagining it. Sure, Yugi said it; he did…but it…it never seemed enough. And his tone was always so…

So…

He couldn't think of a word.

But it was not the same way he had said it the first night he had admitted it. It was not as desperate as it had been then. And Yami feared that his own only grew more and more acutely pathetic and earnest towards approval.

He drew in a deep breath. "No crazy knots," he requested weakly. "I don't…I don't want to feel like I can't truly pull out of them if I need to. I don't…" _I don't know what I'll do if I feel that way_.

Yugi nodded immediately. "I was thinking a basic one anyways. Unlike you, I didn't go to a camp and learn how to tie or undo knots," he teased, though it did not fully make Yami even slightly smile. When the other boy raised his head finally, looking at him for a moment, the smaller teen felt almost sick.

"Don't…don't…" He opened and closed his mouth for a moment, then pulled harder on his jacket sleeve, so stressed that the grip of his fingers turned his knuckles white. The movement was desperate, the words clogged in his throat for a moment, and Yugi nearly went over to stop him. But the taller boy finally managed to choke out, "Don't leave me on the bed like that…"

And the terrified look in his eyes made his insides quake. The smaller teen shook his head mutely, undone both by the sight of his terror and the very way his heart began to break further in his chest.

"I won't," he promised, searching his eyes for a moment. He looked so scared that it almost made him want to tell him to stop, that they didn't need to do it. But he also realized that the other boy was trying to meet him in the middle. And if he were to stop his efforts, he thought maybe Yami would take it as a rejection. "I won't leave you alone like that."

He nodded, breathing out so loudly that it made his frame shiver. Then he sighed and looked down again, tapping his fingers along his wrist slowly. "I'm not…interested in…dirty talk or…spanking. I…" _I can't take it_ …

Yugi shook his head again, slowly and with a feeling of despair welling inside of him. "No, Yami, I wasn't going to. I was just…trying to give you an example," he muttered. Because he needed to find some way to make him open up a bit more. Because he had a feeling Yami would strain and push at his own boundaries and hurt himself beyond repair if he thought it would make him happy. "And, see? It worked. You're laying down ground rules."

He nearly laughed, but it strangled him. He nodded slightly instead, cheeks washed of color. The shame was burning in his stomach, an ulcer he was sure forming from his cowardice. He was weak, and it bothered him, but he knew no other way to be. If he spoke, he felt he would suffocate. If he tried to express himself, he heard taunting in his head. Sometimes, when he was lying next to him at night, he thought of his father. He thought of the way he'd bled so many times on the hardwood floors. He thought of the screams he'd let out while trapped in the dark. He'd thought of how hungry he'd been when he was dismissed of dinner. He pictured his rabbit in his bowl, chunks of tender meat. He heard his father snarling, yelling, spitting. He heard his mother pleading with him to be better, lying that she loved him no matter what. He heard china crashing, felt his body trembling. And there was not a single thing he could do to push it back.

So it swallowed him. And he failed to talk about it. And Yugi did not notice. He did not see the way he struggled to keep his head above water any longer. He saw something troubled him, he asked him about it, but he gave him too much room to insist he was okay. He figured Yami would tell him on his own time.

And he would have.

If he only knew how.

But the words never came.

And the silence grew thicker.

And he would listen to Yugi breathing beside him.

And he would somehow force himself to fall asleep.

And he would wake in the morning, exhausted but relieved.

Because Yugi would still be there.

And he was still alive.

Yami blinked and his vision blurred for a split second. He shook his head. "I think…I think we'll be okay beyond that," he whispered, because he did not know what more to say. And to leave Yugi waiting like this, while he tried so pitifully to scrape at even the _surface_ of his millions of fears, was unfair.

He cleared his throat. "If we're going to do this, can we do it today? I…I have to babysit Mokuba for the next couple of days. Seto is going on a business meeting in the states for a week," he murmured, the lie tasting disgusting on his tongue. Yugi blinked in surprise at him, furrowing his brows and tilting his head as he frowned. "And, is your grandpa really going to be downstairs when we do this?"

Now the smaller boy smirked with a roll of his eyes. "No, actually, he won't be. Arthur and Rebecca are in Japan for a couple of days. He just wanted to open the shop for a few hours. Then he's going to go to the hotel with them and spend the night. He already had an idea that we were going to be messing around today." He paused. "Um…but how are your shoulder and side?"

Yami blinked and then looked at them and back. "They're fine. I changed and washed them a couple of times before and during school. They shouldn't really be an issue." He hesitated. "The doctor actually wants to stitch them again later tomorrow. He thinks if they go for a tighter stitch with some dissolvable sutures it might work out better this time around."

Yugi nodded slightly. "Okay."

 **On another note, I also think I'll be posting next week's update on Tuesday as well, possibly on Thursday instead. My work schedule makes it more likely that it'll be one of those two days unless something changes.**

 **Next chapter we have the BDSM. I only really call it that because they have a safe word. I don't really consider them tying each other up in _Simple_ as anything more than experimenting because there was never a safe word involved. Just because I feel like fact that there's a safe word intones something entirely different from casual experimenting/foreplay. Not that anyone else might think that. It could just be me. Then again, BDSM involves scenes too, if I remember right, so I could just be completely misconstruing everything. I guess that's why I phrased it "BDSM elements" so whatever. That's the warning.**


	7. Panic

**Disclaimer: I own nothing pertaining to Yu-Gi-Oh**

 **Note: Story will be updated every Wednesday**

 **Chapter Warning: Chapter is rated MA (Mature Adult) for sexual content (lemon)**

 **Lemon Warning: If you don't want to read the lemon, just skip around and read the dialogue instead**

 **Lemon Note: Again, if you want to skip the lemon, just read the dialogue and ignore the rest. The lemons actually DO serve a purpose, though, so yeah, I didn't just write it and post it without a reason...**

 **Trigger Warnings: Touches of DEPRESSION, CHILD ABUSE MENTIONED, PANIC ATTACK**

 **All right so! This chapter DOES HAVE BDSM ELEMENTS. Yami is tied up and there's a safe word. The chapter does get kind of heavy and a little darker than the others. I'm not sure I did well enough with it, but Yami has a panic attack. But, remember that his first instinct is both to lash out and then to fold when/if that doesn't work (like he did in chapter eleven of _Simple_ , when his dad showed up, he started yelling and then immediately started to withdraw and apologize to avoid being punished). Keep that in mind as you read it, because it makes more sense for his behavior. As for the depression, Yami still suffers from it and it gets worse as the story goes along (I'm thinking especially in chapters where he's alone for any stretch of time). He has hints of it during the end of the chapter, and some smaller bits during the middle and beginning. The child abuse is only mentioned this time around, but he does have a lot of problems with it, as you all know if you've read _Simple_. **

**Also, so, I don't know if anyone remembers the scene in _Simple_ where they agreed to Yugi tying Yami up. If you don't, that's fine, because I'm going to explain it. So, in the last few chapters of _Simple_ , when Yami was still tied up, the Puzzle drew Yugi into it in order to give Yami more physical energy (because Atem being a ghost connected to the Puzzle, cannot supply energy to a living being) in order to complete the ritual to kill off Pegasus and the others without repercussions from the Eye reacting. Or the Puzzle passing judgment on Yami and killing him in the process. Now, that said, Yugi originally thought it was a lucid dream, joked with Yami about walking through a dark forest like in fairytales, then got pissed when they just kept walking for hours. So he eventually snapped at him that he was bored and they should make out instead (or something along those lines lol) in which case he ends up sitting in Yami's lap making out with him. Yami eventually complained that his jaw hurt too much to keep going so Yugi announced himself the winner and ended up saying that Yami owed him a prize. His prize? Having Yami tied to the bed. **

**Also, true story, Yugi's research? It took me far less that thirty hours to find a suitable rope blend and all that. But it did keep me up VERY late into the night and I THINK it took about four hours to find everything? The knot, also, took me about ten minutes to find. I'm not sure that the way I set it up would work in real-life, considering the length and having one length of rope. But the site DID mention giving space of two fingers, maybe more if they sweat, then laying the rope in a way that would give them the ability to grab it as an anchor. Anyways, so, all of this was researched for a pretty long time and now my Google suggestions is full of things that make me blush and go "Please, no".**

 **Don't say I never did anything for you guys~**

 **And, I'm sorry for the late posting. But I worked yesterday, was seriously tired, considered editing and posting, and then went "Nah, I'm good". I have zero motivation when it comes to things after getting off work. It's draining sometimes (especially because most days it is completely dead and I get so bored it drives me insane and I'm NOT allowed to whip out my phone and start writing chapters in case someone comes in).**

 **Anyways, hopefully you enjoy~**

Chapter VII: Panic

"And you remember the safe word?"

Yami could have groaned and rolled his eyes up in the back of his head. It was sweet that Yugi was trying so hard to make sure he was comfortable, but it was driving him insane. If they said the safe word one more time, he thought he'd have to completely wipe it from his dictionary.

"Done."

Yugi snorted. "No need to be so rude about it," he teased playfully. He had secured a loop of the rope around the headboard. Yami was seated on the end of the bed, watching him with clear trepidation in his sharp eyes. They had gone over the safe word and the way he would be tied up for the last hour, boiling it down to the very basics. Yami would let him knot the rope around his wrists up to three times, but past that he would call it off. If he forgot the safe word for whatever reason—and they both knew it would be fear or shock—he would scratch at the headboard. If there was ever a moment he was not happy with it, he would say so. If Yugi thought he was pushing himself too hard, he'd say the safe word himself.

Yami was relaxed enough physically. But Yugi had paid enough attention to him in their time together to know that he was not as calm mentally. His eyes were swirling with shades of red and small sparks would light before diminishing. He would stare and stare and the expression on his face was carefully guarded. But the thoughts were clearly churning behind his eyes, passing like shadows.

"Okay, and if you don't remember it?"

"I scratch the headboard." Yami watched him for a moment, then tilted his head. "How many knots?"

"Three."

"And if you think I'm pushing too hard?"

"I say the safe word."

They both nodded at each other, though Yami was slightly dismissive in his action. It occurred to him that he was glad not to be wearing the Puzzle at the moment. He had left it in the kitchen, hopeful that it would keep him from reacting violently if something went wrong. He didn't want to hurt Yugi. He had done that enough as it was…

He fidgeted. Wow, today was just the best day ever for introspection, wasn't it? He nearly rolled his eyes at himself. He needed to stop thinking. He really needed a distraction at this rate.

He wouldn't think of their time together like that anymore, but it wasn't exactly a lie to say that he would forget himself when they began. Yugi wasn't the most patient lover, but he knew enough of what he was doing and what Yami liked to make him become basically boneless.

That would definitely help.

He grinned slightly, unable to stop himself.

Yugi raised a brow and cheekily murmured, "Oh, look, you're just as kinky as I am!"

Yami blinked, burst out laughing, and shook his head. " _No one_ is quite as kinky as you are, I'll bet." He looked at the rope for a long minute, then turned back to him. "Then again, I suppose this is very mild in comparison to some."

He rolled his eyes. "I bet you half those people don't put in as much effort as I had to _just_ to find _one rope_ that _might_ accommodate you well enough," he huffed, shaking his head with a small smile on his face.

His boyfriend furrowed his brows and tilted his head. "What do you mean?"

And now he felt like crap, because he hadn't truly meant to say that. He picked at the end of the rope for a long moment, trying to think of the best way to explain. Then he shrugged, looked at him, and complained, "It took about fifteen different sites and about twice as many hours of research on the ropes and the possibilities of them burning your wrists and how well they held and all of that to narrow it down to about three different selections."

Yami felt his eyes grow thrice their usual size. Yugi had spent _that_ much time just looking into the rope they could use? He felt his stomach tie into knots. He had cared that much about making him comfortable? Oh gods…

"I…I could have done that…I mean, I could have figured it out for…"

Yugi rolled his eyes. "It's not like it was a bad thing to research it," he argued, trying to make him relax again. He could already see the guilt in his eyes and it was beginning to frustrate him. "No, Yami, I wasn't going to have you search for hemp rope on the internet when I could have done it and gotten more ideas."

He frowned and scratched at the inside of his left wrist for a moment. "Well, I still…I didn't expect it to take that long, Yugi."

The smaller teen shrugged and shook his head. "Besides, I figured it was better to buy something that I'll actually _use_ and know works than just waste money and have to return things."

Yami raised a brow slowly and smirked in amusement at the annoyance that flashed across his face. "You hardly sound keen on returning to the sex shop," he teased playfully, expecting an instant refusal, perhaps for Yugi to say that he was wrong.

"I'm not."

He blinked. "What? But I thought you liked it?"

Yugi rolled his eyes. He had liked the way _Yami squirmed_ when he was in there. The shop itself was just kind of…there. He could live with it being there or not. It hardly affected him in any way, shape or form. "Yeah, I did. I liked the face that you made whenever I suggested something and you were against it. But the shop itself is just a shop. And I didn't exactly appreciate the way I was treated when I went to pick up the rope." Yami furrowed his brows and tilted his head, confused. Yugi let out a deep sigh and looked up at the ceiling to keep from scowling. "The woman told me that the rope might be too harsh on my delicate skin and then asked why my _dom_ wasn't there with me."

Yami blinked wide eyes. Then he folded his bottom lip into his mouth and lowered his eyes, struggling not to burst out laughing. "Oh wow," he managed, drawing the words out, breathing in chuckles and shaking his head to clear them.

"Yes, Yami, _laugh_ at your boyfriend's mortification," Yugi snapped, though his tone was somewhat playful as he moved across the bed on his hands and knees. Yami glanced up, struggling not to laugh anymore. "And then we'll get to see just how much my _dom_ likes being pounded into the mattress with a rope too rough for his sub's delicate skin."

Yami froze, eyes growing wider, and then forced out a cough. "Oh, uh…" He coughed again and rubbed at his throat. "I think I might have just caught something."

Yugi grinned widely. "You're so full of shit."

"No, uh, really…I think I got…" He struggled for words. "Some kind of STD or something…err…from breathing the same air as that…horrible, _horrible_ woman."

Yugi raised a brow, smirking. "Poor baby. Guess I'll just have to make this _final_ time between us last for _hours_ and whisper sweet little nothings before leaving you forever."

Yami hesitated, then bit his lip. "I, um…think it's…curable?"

"Oh, but, sweet darkness, I think I told you that day that you drank coffee out of that champagne bottle. I have to protect my merchandise so me and my penis will have _no_ more relations with you ever again."

Yami pursed his lips and grumbled, "I think it's gone now."

" _Hmm_?" Yugi asked, nearly shaking with suppressed laughter. He leaned his ear towards him playfully and edged his body slightly to put his face as close as possible to his. " _What_ was that, Yami?"

The older boy scowled and reached out to shove at his shoulder gently. "I said, I think it's gone," he snapped, blushing when Yugi smirked at him, beaming.

"I _knew_ you would see it my way," he laughed out loud, unable to stop himself now.

Yami couldn't fight away the smile that crossed his face. He rolled his eyes and shook his head, then pressed a kiss to his neck, tracing his pulse point. "Yeah, sadly," he agreed, reaching up to run a hand through his hair.

Yugi was still laughing but the intimacy of the action wasn't lost on him. He let him keep it there, kissing along his neck for a few moments. His lips were trembling slightly. He didn't know if it was from the joke of a threat that he might leave him or the idea of the rope. Maybe it was even the effort he had put into it. Either way, he almost wanted to pull him into his lap and hold him there for a moment.

But it passed. Yami pulled away and shoved him by the shoulder so that he fell into the bed. Then he smirked at him and pinned him on his back. "We could always see if it really _is_ too rough for your delicate skin instead," he growled, laughing when Yugi squirmed and pushed him away.

"No way!" he cried, springing up to grab him and toss him onto his back. He immediately moved to straddle him and both of them glared playfully at each other, smirking. He didn't doubt for a second that he was right in his idea that Yami would never tie him up anyways. He didn't think Yami would ever want to do that to someone, let alone him. "I won when we were making out and you quit first."

The taller teen snorted, laughing, and reached up to run his hands along his ribs gently. "You did," he agreed in a soft voice. His fingers traced along his bones for a moment, as if memorizing the curves of them. "And I have no plans to back out of giving you your prize."

Yugi chuckled and lowered his mouth to his, breathing, "Good" before moving his hands to trace his shirt's hemline. He tapped lightly at his hip and Yami moved to spread his legs for him. The smaller teen wiggled back, placing himself between them properly where he had been straddling him formerly.

"Trust me?"

Yami blinked. "Always…"

"Good." He trailed a kiss along his jaw and to his neck. "Then we're going to have to take off your jacket and shirt before we do anything else."

The taller teen blinked, startled. Then, slowly, he nodded slightly. If Yugi was going to tie him up, he would need his chest bare. That way he wasn't caught with his clothes knotting over the top or too irritated from the entire thing to bother with anything else. He swallowed hard as Yugi pulled away slightly, just enough to bury his face in his throat. He picked at the buttons of the shirt beneath his fingers. Each one slipped seamlessly away to expose his stomach. Yami shuddered at the cold air but didn't object.

"Okay?"

"Yeah, just cold."

Yugi nodded and moved his fingers to trace his stomach. Yami squirmed and struggled to keep from bucking against him. He was barely touching him. Yet he was burning where his fingers passed over his skin. He licked his lips and bit the inside of his cheek. His fingers twitched but he didn't bother to raise them to tangle in his hair yet. If he was going to take the shirt and jacket off, it would be easier if he didn't have to pull away from him so completely.

He was feeling the soreness of their separation a lot more than he had initially assumed he would. It wore on him that he was so desperate now. But the nightmares and the thought of being tied up—all of it threatened to fray at his nerves.

He closed his eyes tightly. Yugi touched his right side where the wound was stitched. But there was no leakage this time and the bandage was clean and perfectly white. He still tapped his fingers against it, however, testing for moisture. When he found none, the small teen pressed a kiss to his collarbone, then lowered his head to his chest. His heart was hammering, though he was not sure if it was the intensity they shared or fear at the moment. But he was holding so still aside from momentary squirming and that was not how he acted when he was scared…

"Okay…"

Yami did not need him to say it a second time. When Yugi moved to allow him room, the taller teen pulled the sleeves away and slipped his hand out. Then he did the same with his other and threw the two articles of clothing away. They dropped soundlessly to the floor and Yugi nodded.

"Okay, so I'm going to see about how to make the knot again, just to be sure," Yugi mumbled, pulling his phone out to start searching. Yami blinked up at him but didn't object, instead lying back a little more fully. "The rope is like ten meters long, so that'll give you a lot more space than the site actually said, but whatever."

The taller teen moved just enough to prop himself onto his elbows. "That's…generous of you," he finally mumbled, unable to think of anything else to say. He blinked at him but Yugi wasn't truly paying him much attention around scouring his phone.

"It was actually because I didn't want to spend money on _two_ ropes," he said absently, before moving his knees closer to him. They squeezed his hips lightly for a moment, then moved away. "Not that I wouldn't spend the money on you. I was just pretty sure this would be easier if I could secure both your wrists with one rope."

Yami nodded and watched him. His eyes were blank for a moment before his face lit up with excitement. He tapped on his phone, then grinned a little wider, and hummed, "Here it is! It's called a bondage knot—or a hitch-knot."

"Hitch-knot?"

Now Yugi looked up, smiling at him, and said in a soft, gentle tone, "It's one that doesn't loosen or tighten when you squirm. It works really well with the hemp blend I got too. But the knot is actually kind of easy to get out of if you needed to."

He nodded slightly, frowning faintly. "Okay," he murmured, nodding again. His boyfriend studied him for a moment, searching his face clearly for the answer to a question he had not yet asked, and then turned away again. He got up from the bed and walked around to pull the rope away from where he had loosely draped it over the headboard.

Yami watched him bunch the middle somewhat, allowing it to sag, and then clench his fingers around the ends, tugging gently. The rope snapped into a straight line, then fell again when he released the tension on it. While Yami watched it, Yugi watched him.

He seemed okay. He was not flinching from the demonstration. And he seemed oddly relaxed regardless. Yugi smiled faintly. Maybe Yami would be okay with the entire thing. But he didn't trust himself not to make the other boy uncomfortable at some point. Yami could be skittish at times when it came to things like that.

When he got on the bed again, he moved to lean over him and towards the headboard. It took him only a moment to find the mark he had put in the middle of the rope. There he tied it tightly, knotting it forcefully. Yami watched with a confused, slightly perplexed expression.

"That's the midway point for the entire rope," Yugi explained with a small grin. He pulled the rope out again from behind the headboard, bringing it to his lap. "Can I see your wrist?"

If someone else had ever asked him such a question, Yami would have been cautious of doing so. Even Bakura or Mai would have been given a dirty, suspicious look. He had let Bakura touch his brace when his wrist had suffered a small break at the hospital. But he would not allow him to see it when it was fully healed; he would have assumed he was going to draw on it or something. He was uncomfortable when anyone thought to look at the veins on his wrist. He had never been sure of why; possibly it was the abuse, maybe it was just because he thought they were too thin and ugly. He could never be sure. But even Mai, who was the only girl he had trusted enough to try to have sex with, would have been treated with trepidation.

With Yugi he simply stretched his hand out. And it shocked him. He blinked stupidly even though he knew the smaller teen would not do anything to hurt him. And, when Yugi held the rope to his skin and doubled it, he did nothing to object then either. He watched him as he placed the mid-point of his wrist, then brought both ends to slip through it.

Yugi glanced at the phone, nodding to himself, and then murmured, "It's called a lark's head, apparently. That's your fun fact for the day."

Yami rolled his eyes, smiling faintly. He looked over the length of the rope. Yugi was using the knot in the middle as a way of telling the length properly to fit both his wrists. He smiled a little more. The smaller teen was a lot smarter than most people gave him credit for. He was not even sure he would have done that rather than just cutting the rope in two…

Yugi leaned over, studying the picture, then brought the doubled rope back around his wrist as they had originally been directed. The second loop that had been formed from the original knot was used to further double the knot.

Then he pulled them about six inches and put another loop through that.

Yami frowned faintly as Yugi then pulled the whole of the remaining length of rope through that last one, tightening the knot against his wrist. It looked complicated, but small, and he looked at its simplistic design with slight satisfaction. His wrist was tiny beneath it, but there were four strands of rope around it, one large knot made of repeated loops, and two ends that fed out from the same place. He thought it almost looked like a spider with only two long legs.

"I'm going to make sure I did this right," Yugi murmured, looking him in the eye now. Yami startled faintly, eyes widening. The smaller teen reached over for the knot again, then tugged. The taller boy faltered when he did not feel anything. But he could see Yugi pulling gently at it, almost with enough force that it would have cut off his circulation any second had it given way.

"So, it's arranged to where you can close your fingers around the knot," he announced, nodding and grinning ear to ear with satisfaction. "You won't be able to pull it apart, but it will give you something to hold onto if you get freaked out some point but aren't completely ready to use the safe word."

Yami blinked at him, startled. "You…"

He flashed him another grin. "I told you I did my research."

He flushed, looking away. He flexed his fingers, running the tips of them over the knot formed on his wrist. He licked his lips as he considered it. It was not on his pulse or the base of the thumb. That made sense to him, he supposed. If he built up pressure on it, he would end up numbing his hand had it been there.

Yugi slipped around him to pull the other half of the rope through the headboard. "Can I see your other wrist now?" he requested, relieved when Yami handed it to him just as quickly as he had the first. "How does the knot feel?"

"I can barely tell it's there," he admitted with slight wonder in his voice. He watched again as he began to tie the same knot on his left wrist as well. He licked his lips. Yugi glanced at the phone one more time, making sure that he had not skipped steps. Then he pulled back and allowed him to feel the knot on his wrist again with his fingers.

"Okay, lay back for me, on the pillows, okay?" He obliged, maneuvering himself slowly to do so, and then settled against the soft surface to allow him whatever it was he was trying to see. "Raise and cross your wrists for me."

When he did, the rope still didn't pull. And the length of it from the headboard was still comfortable enough for him to be able to breathe without feeling winded by the truth of the situation. He could not believe he was truly doing this…

Yugi slipped his fingers between the rope and Yami's wrist. The movement made Yami choke slightly, somewhere between an intake of breath and a snicker. He glanced at him, eyes widening, but the taller boy seemed more or less surprised rather than alarmed or hurt. He relaxed slightly, then turned to secure his other wrist. "So, they said on the sites to keep space enough for two fingers at the least, then more if you think the other person is going to sweat a lot." He shot him a sinful grin and nudged his rib with his knee. "And if you aren't sweating by the time we're finished then I've clearly been doing it wrong."

Yami flushed but rolled his eyes. "I'm sure you'll manage just fine, little one."

He smirked and turned back to the rope, testing it with his fingers between his skin and the threads. "Okay, so, I'm probably going to check on these a couple of times," he admitted, frowning. "I mean, I practiced the knots a couple of times over in the states, but this rope is different so I have no idea how well it will hold in comparison. Anyways, you need to tell me if you ever start to feel any pain or needle pricks or whatever. I'd rather not completely cut off the circulation in your hands."

Yami nodded again, though he did not seem to mind too much. When he flexed his hands and wiggled his fingers at the smaller boy's instruction, Yugi grinned faintly and kissed his forehead. Then he sat back, scooting to the edge of the bed. When he hooked a finger and gestured him over, the taller teen sat up, flexing his hands, and then moved to make his way closer. He got to the middle and then stopped.

"Okay, so check to make sure you can reach over to the nightstand and the desk."

Yami faltered, then frowned and scooted back, moving both ways and reaching the surfaces easily. Both had a couple pairs of flat-edged scissors resting on the surface. He tilted his head. Yugi truly had done his research. He had apparently thought of everything…

"No permanent nerve damage for you," Yugi teased as he noticed his startled look. Yami flushed faintly, eyes wide as they shot to his again. He smiled at him again, raising a brow and tilting his head. "The scissors are there just in case. I don't think you'll have too much of a problem, though. There's still a lot of rope there for you to move around with."

"I…"

He didn't like the way his eyes looked almost ashamed for a moment. It was just below his pupils, splintering along his irises towards the outer layer of red. And it frustrated him to even see that, as momentary as it was. He looked away. Those stupid assholes—that stupid, _stupid fucking sperm donor_ …

"Anyways, we're going to check the ropes and make sure your circulation is still good every few minutes, okay? I don't want you to stay quiet just so that I can enjoy myself."

The shame lit his eyes tenfold when Yugi gave him a warning look. He immediately looked away, reaching down to pick at the comforter. "I didn't realize that you noticed that," he commented in a slightly frustrated voice.

He rolled his eyes and moved to tip his chin up again. "Yami, I notice a lot of things. Just because I don't say anything doesn't mean I don't know about it," he finally murmured, moving to kiss along his jaw. He nipped and the taller teen squirmed. "Just like I know how that spot right there makes you a little harder sometimes. Or how when I touch your side sometimes you cringe. Or when you hear the landline ring you start to look sick."

He groaned. "Please, stop…"

Yugi sighed. "One more time then. What's our safe word?"

"Done."

"And if you can't remember it?"

"Scratch the headboard."

"And if you can't remember that?"

He faltered, then smiled when he realized where he was going with that inquiry. "The scissors are on either side of the bed and I can cut the rope," he supplied, nodding when Yugi beamed a little.

"Great!"

Yami nodded again and glanced back at the pillows. "Um…do you want me to lay back down or—?"

"And here's where I remind you that I didn't _pay_ for _services_ ," Yugi snapped a little icily. The other teen blinked and then slowly turned his head to look at him again. They eyed each other for a moment, the taller teen unnerved. "Jesus, you're doing it again."

"Doing what…?" Yami trailed off and then narrowed his eyes. "I'm not…I just…I don't know what the hell I'm supposed to be doing!"

He rolled his eyes. "Maybe enjoying yourself?"

"Yes, because I'm known for enjoying being tied up," he scoffed angrily before looking away again. If he didn't end this argument soon, he felt like he was going to blow up. He drew in a deep breath, then shook his head. "I'll enjoy it when we actually get started. Until then, what do you want me to do?"

"I. Didn't. Pay. For. _Services_ ," Yugi spat in response, throwing his hands up.

"I know that! But what else am I supposed—"

"You can't ask me if you want me to lay down when you're already shaking like that!" the smaller teen snarled, cutting him off entirely. Yami blinked, freezing, and then looked down. Was he shaking? Fuck, of course Yugi would notice that.

"I'm just nervous," he grumbled, moving his hands to his laps. "I'm not scared, if that's what you're so freaked out about."

"Right, because I _shouldn't_ be concerned when my boyfriend's hands are shaking."

He faltered, and the words left his mouth before he could think straight. "Would you worry this much if we weren't dating? I mean, if I was still your fuck buddy—" And then his face paled and his eyes grew wide as he covered his mouth with his hands. Yugi was frozen, eyes wide, and his lip began to curl in distaste. "I'm sorry…"

"I hate when you do this," he snapped. "You act like you _have_ to do these things for me. Then you say crap like that—like you _aren't_ supposed to matter to me and I _shouldn't_ care anymore. Then you start looking at me like—fuck, like _that_!"

He blinked and shook his head.

"Then you _wonder_ why I didn't bother to try to do this before now—"

"I'm…I'm really stressed out right now," Yami whispered, looking away. He had raised his shoulders as if he thought he was going to be struck and his eyes were wide as they stared at the comforter. "I'm so tired. And things are just getting further out of control. I'm sorry. I'm so… _so_ sorry. I just…"

Yugi shook his head slightly, then swallowed hard. He drew in a deep breath and then exhaled loudly. Yami was withdrawing again. Past experience said that if he let him go much further, the other teen would play the complete submissive and basically hide from him for _hours_.

The smaller teen didn't like to have to concede in this argument, however. Yami was treating this as he had the other night, asking why they weren't having sex as if he was meant to service him. He hated that about him—well, no, he hated his _sperm donor for doing that to him_. He hated the bastard for crippling the other boy to this point. And it was becoming so much worse. _Why_ was it becoming _worse_?

He had not thought he had done anything to make him begin to revert to this. Yami had been okay for the first couple of months after the incident. So why was it that he was backpedaling so quickly? Was it really stress? Or had Yugi somehow _done something_ to make this happen?

He bit his lip, then moved closer to the bed. Yami didn't look up until he took a seat in front of him and leaned forward. His eyes were more broken than he'd seen them before. It made his stomach lurch. What was going on in his head? For once in his life, Yugi truly wished he could see someone else's thoughts. Never before had he ever thought about that kind of thing. Most people irritated him. He did not have patience for many of them. And to be in their heads and able to see their thoughts was an idea that had always made him want to puke. But he'd have given anything to see what was going on in his boyfriend's head at the moment…

When he couldn't find a hint of it after searching his eyes, the smaller teen pushed the urge away to ask him. Yami would simply use the excuse that he was stressed again. He knew that. He knew the red-eyed teen well enough. So he leaned forward, tilting his head, and kissed him lightly. The other teen shakily reached out to touch him. His fingers were trembling finely and his lips against his held a slight tremor.

Yugi pushed just enough to ease Yami back slightly. If he was lying down, he'd be more comfortable. He had learned early on that the red-eyed teen was fine to lie on his back, or even to sit on the ledge in his shower, but he could not do positions that required much otherwise. And he had adamantly refused to do doggy style with him before when they were fooling around in a bathroom stall at school. He had said he just didn't like it but Yugi was pretty sure—if not one hundred percent—that it was the fact that he would have to be on his knees and Yugi in a similar position.

It was just another thing on a long list of things that Yugi hated his sperm donor and incubator for. He ran a hand through the other teen's hair. Yami squirmed faintly at the sensation when he tugged lightly on the strands. Then he shifted awkwardly to spread his legs for him and fall back into the pillows.

Yugi snickered when he looked at him again. "Really? You couldn't have given me a minute? I would have followed," he laughed softly, rolling his eyes and moving to seat himself comfortably between his legs. Yami moved just enough to squeeze his knees against his hips in a pseudo grip of what he would do with his thighs when they actually got further.

"That would have taken too long."

He snorted and lowered his mouth to his again. Yami's arms moved to around his neck, one of his hands fingering the hair at the nape of his neck. He squirmed, snickering into his mouth. The reaction made Yami laugh in response and the smaller teen shivered.

"Stop that! You're distracting me!"

 _I'll do anything as long as you aren't mad anymore_ , he thought in relief. He smirked at him playfully rather than say such words, leaning closer to kiss him again. "You're taking too long," he murmured against his lips instead. His other hand restlessly moved to the collar of his shirt. He wondered if it seemed like he was trying to get it over with as quickly as possible. The thought stalled his fingers for a moment. Yugi couldn't possibly think he didn't want to be with him, right? He didn't think he was treating it like a chore, did he? His fingers stilled altogether, eyes growing wide. But what if he _did_?

Yugi furrowed his brows and wiggled his hips. The movement jostled the other teen enough to make him focus on him again. "Look, whatever is going on in your head, it's not right," he said with surprising certainty which made his own skin crawl. When had he become so at ease with trying to calm the other boy down?

Yami faltered for a second. Then he nodded and began to pick at the buttons of his white uniform shirt. "And here I thought you loved me," he drawled in a teasing tone, though the edges were slightly shaky.

The tone made the smaller teen stop short. Even as he squirmed faintly when Yami brushed a button too close to his skin and it tickled his chest, he could not make himself move again. Was he really that scared? Or was he just worried that he'd upset him again? Yugi didn't know but he supposed taking chances was hardly something that he should do.

"I do," he agreed, not bothering to tease him. The other teen nodded faintly, as if the response was what he had anticipated, and Yugi felt slightly hollow at the idea. Had he known he was not going to say it this time? His stomach hurt as he considered it. How many times had Yami asked and expected not to get an answer? The thought made him squeeze his eyes shut for a moment. Deft fingers plucked the last button out of place and then tugged lightly on the choker around his neck.

"Maybe we should just stop thinking altogether," Yami muttered.

Yugi barked out a laugh, looking at him again. "Is that even possible?"

He gestured towards their position. "It used to be." He paused, knowing the insinuation he had just made though the smaller teen hardly seemed upset this time. "It'd be a little different now, but it would be okay."

Yugi rolled his eyes. _Everything_ was _different_. That was what always unnerved him when he was around the other teen. He drew in a deep breath, shaking his head. "Just focus on me," he announced, flashing him a cocky grin.

"I always focus on you."

The admission made his heart pound a little. Then he shook it off. He'd said similar things before. It wasn't even as big as those other three. Yet it scared him a little bit more than them, somehow. He nodded and quickly buried his face into the hollow of his neck, kissing and nipping in alternating patterns. If he wasn't careful, he'd end up saying something stupid and Yami might get hurt from it.

"Sorry."

 _Fuck_.

"For what?"

 _Shut up, shut up—_ please, _shut up_.

"I'm apparently a sap."

 _Which only happens when you're scared_. _Yep, great_. _I scared you_. _That's just_ great.

Yugi ignored him now, moving his hands towards the other boy's pants. He pulled at the belt that rested around them—when had he started wearing one? Had he just not noticed?—and undid the buckle. Yami squeezed his hips with his knees again, urging him forward. Yugi shuffled a couple of inches further, his knees against Yami's thighs, the taller teen closing his eyes as he began to kiss and nip again. Maybe he could get Yami's head to clear some and he would be fine to ignore his own thoughts later…

"How are the ropes?"

"Hmm?" He tugged on them for a moment, then looked his wrists over. Neither was bruised or even slightly chafed. "Good—great even, actually."

"Good." He worked his pants off with a small bit of effort. He didn't want to get up and he couldn't physically strip him unless he did so. Yugi ground his teeth and rolled his eyes while Yami snorted in laughter at his predicament. The smaller teen flipped him off around leaning all the way back and pulling his pants with him. The material slipped away onto the comforter and he quickly kicked them to the floor. "So, then, let's see. Should I take your boxers off now or make you cream them?"

"I think we have adequately established that I can hold my orgasm. Thanks. Nice try though, Yugi."

The smaller teen faltered, then cursed under his breath. Yami burst out laughing and Yugi shook his head, blushing slightly, before pulling his boxers off as well. The taller teen writhed, hissing in distaste, and he snickered in amusement. "Payback," he teased, leaning forward to kiss his forehead when Yami seemed to tense slightly.

It occurred to him that they had never really done something like this. The only time one of them had been undressed and the other had not done so at the same time was when he had woken him when he had fallen asleep on the couch. Yugi had gone to ask him for help figuring out if he was truly in love with him or not and had found him passed out with an empty champagne bottle. Despite all of the teasing that he needed to stop getting plastered on higher end alcohols, the contents left in the bottle had been coffee. Yami had fallen asleep after drinking too much of it and Yugi had woken him under the wrong assumption. When Yami had agreed to sleep with him to see if it was possible that he was in love with him, Yugi had been told to undress. It had made him feel more like a prostitute than he had ever really cared to before.

He hesitated for a moment, then kissed his temple. His fingers worked at the hem of his tank top and he tossed it to the floor with his boyfriend's things. The effect of the action was immediate. Yami grew far more relaxed, as if he had assumed the worst moments before. Yugi wanted to snap at him that he should know better, but the idea made him feel sick and so he simply moved to pull his jeans and boxers off after him.

Maybe next time they would try something new. He wondered what clothes felt like when they were ground against a naked body. He was sure he could convince Yami to experiment with him with that. But he was already allowing him to tie him up. He wasn't willing to push too far now.

Yami chewed his lip for a moment, watching him with curious eyes. "Do you ever…get kind of self-conscious?" he asked slowly, blinking up at him. "I mean, like…"

Yugi tilted his head, waiting for him to finish, but the taller teen abruptly clamped his jaw shut and shook his head with a frown. The smaller boy watched him, then moved to settle between his legs again. He stretched over the length of his boyfriend, and flashed him a small grin. "You mean when we're naked?" he teased.

Yami didn't smile at him, but his eyes flashed nervously. "Yes."

"Sometimes," he admitted with a shrug, "but I don't see you saying something degrading about me anytime soon, so I don't really pay much attention."

He nodded slightly but his nerves were still apparent. He pursed his lips, then grimaced and bit into his cheek for a moment.

"Are the ropes making you nervous? You don't normally give me that look before we have sex." Yugi considered him for a moment, then drew in a deep breath. "You haven't said the safe word yet. You can still do that."

"I'm not that nervous. I just…I'm used to us moving by now. You haven't even…" He gestured vaguely with a flick of his wrist, frowning pointedly. "Fuck, we haven't even started prep yet and—"

He pursed his lips. "You mean, I'm not allowed to just fuck you?" he drawled sarcastically. "I was under the impression that once you were tied up and couldn't fight back, prep and foreplay were rather useless."

Yami blinked at him with wide eyes, startled, and then scowled. His knee hit him in the side and Yugi burst out laughing at the slight touch. He grinned at him and pressed their lips together again but the taller teen was still glaring at him when he pulled back. "That's not even slightly amusing," Yami bit out at him.

"I'm sorry," he replied after a moment, face falling. "I just…you worry too much. I'm not going to hurt you."

"I _know_ that!" he stressed unhappily. "I just…I'm used to us going faster and I…my patience is not at its utmost best."

Yugi shook his head and kissed his forehead again. "I know, but I can't start anything until you relax a little bit," he commented, raising a brow at him in amusement. Yami blinked and his eyes grew wide, his cheeks flushing faintly. He had not even noticed the smaller teen had positioned his fingers there already, that he was simply waiting for him to calm somewhat.

"I'm sorry…"

"There's nothing to apologize for."

But wasn't there? The taller teen felt sick and guilty. He was making this such a bad experience already. They had not even done anything as of that moment and he was already fucking everything up. He reached a hand for his forehead, scratching between his brows. By the gods, he was such a wreck, wasn't he?

When did Yugi realize he was too damaged for him to care?

He nearly trembled.

Fuck, what was _wrong_ with him?

He struggled to fight away the hideous images that came to mind. And then he had to choke on the anguished cry which threatened to leave his lips the moment that he remembered Ishizu's words. Yugi would die if he didn't go to Egypt.

And he had to go to Egypt in about twenty-nine hours.

He reached up to lace his fingers in Yugi's hair. He tugged him forward, their mouths crashing together. It was painful, almost bruising. Yami tangled his fingers and tugged gently. The smaller teen let out an almost startled noise. Then he pressed into him more firmly. His tongue laced with his, the taste of caramel and vanilla making the taller teen purr. It was always exciting when he got a taste of the other boy, especially when it had been hours without.

The smaller teen moved his fingers where they were pressed against his entrance. Yami squirmed faintly, then kissed him more firmly. His hand was rough when the taller teen tugged harder. The strands seemed almost to tug away completely. His scalp was itching and tickling. He pressed his knees against his thighs, inching them apart just the slightest bit more. The taller teen tensed, then allowed him to breach his finger to the knuckle.

"Safe word?"

Yami grumbled breathlessly against his cheek when he kissed his neck. "Fucker," he growled instead, making him laugh gently. Yugi pulled back and shot him an amused look, though part of it was serious. "Done."

He nodded, satisfied. "Knots?"

"I'd be more worried about the ones in your hair."

Yugi laughed and shook his head. Then he kissed his forehead again and quickly trailed his mouth to his again. He kissed the edges of his lips and then to the center. Yami pulled again at his hair and he pumped his finger. The taller teen tensed again briefly when he pushed the second in beside it. They settled for a moment to catch their breath. Then Yugi groaned and laughed harder when Yami let out a disgruntled growl of a noise and tugged his head back towards him again.

"You impatient asshole."

"Definitely."

He kissed him harder than before. The entire thing seemed to make his lips hurt. His jaw flexed and ached faintly. His tongue was sparking with the taste of Yami on his tongue. He smirked against his mouth when he pulled back.

Yami did not seem the least bit nervous anymore. Yugi was too relieved to second guess it. He kissed him again, then scissored his fingers. When Yami wriggled beneath him, purring into his mouth, the vibrations made him squirm. The smaller teen huffed through his nose, snickering faintly, and the purring made trills run through his spine. That usual touch of friction between them, always so warm, like sparks and fire, seemed to be growing that much more powerful. His blood was humming and his marrow felt as if it were molten.

His fingers pumped and the scissoring motion continued until the taller teen grunted into his mouth impatiently. When he ignored the noise, Yami tugged on his hair again. Yugi pulled back laughing and rolled his eyes. "All right, you asshole, lay off the hair," he teased, for a moment fascinated with the thought of kissing his nose. Had it always looked so cute? Normally Yami was regal in appearance.

Maybe he'd just never noticed how adorable his nose actually was before then.

He quirked his lips up in a wide grin, then moved to press his third finger into the other teen. Yami squirmed, tensing only minutely, and watched him with a confused expression.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"You're staring at me."

"You're directly in front of me."

"You know that's not what I mean."

Yugi snorted. "What's your point though? I'm allowed to stare."

"I don't stare at you."

" _You_ are an impulsive shopper. _I_ am not. I tend to have to view the merchandise before I purchase it."

Yami squirmed now. Then he quivered and arched when he brushed his prostate with the pad of his middle finger. He panted, blinking at him stupidly. "You never seemed to complain about the merchandise the other times you've purchased it," he managed to bite out, panting a little more.

"You don't usually require so much…maintenance."

This time the look on his face was one of pure shock and confusion. "Maintenance?" he asked in a bemused tone, eyes widening drastically. "You mean I really needed to get a prostate exam?"

Yugi growled low in his throat. "This is my ass. You don't take it to other people."

"Hmm…but my health—"

He scoffed and pressed his finger more firmly into his prostate. Yami squirmed and purred, arching and then dropping back against the pillows with a low, throaty moan. "I can do it better than the doctors anyways," he claimed with his chin raised. He winked at him a moment later, then kissed his forehead. "I just meant that you aren't usually so nervous, Yami."

"Oh." He was frowning and Yugi hated himself for putting that expression there. But then the other boy shrugged it off in order to kiss him and it seemed reasonable enough to just leave it where it lay. Besides, surely Yami knew he hadn't meant it in a negative way. If he had, he wouldn't have bothered to ask him so many times for the safe word. Or tried so hard to let him relax or—

Ooh, his tongue tasted really good at the moment.

Yugi slipped his fingers from him after a moment, then licked his lips as he pulled away. Yami was flushed, his eyes glazed with lust. As long as he was comfortable enough to lose himself in the sensation, then why should he do anything else?

The smaller teen positioned himself, then pressed gently into the taller teen. Yami squirmed again, but it was more with impatience than discomfort. He licked his lips, staring up at him with bright red eyes that spoke of impatience. He was not the least bit uncomfortable anymore.

Yugi pressed a kiss to his forehead, seating himself completely. He wondered when it was that he had begun to even kiss his forehead like this. Yami had done it on occasion. Once or twice, when he had left his house for whatever reason—getting ready for school after spending the night, going to baby-sit Mokuba—but Yugi usually did not do so. It was almost kind of surprising to him that he was doing this. Usually Yami would simply peck him there, say he had to run, and would be gone before he could blink.

He wondered at the behavior for a moment.

But, had he asked, Yami would have admitted that he loved it— _a lot_.

It was almost so comforting to him that it made him want nothing more than to lie in his arms for the rest of his life. It was reminiscent of that night in the same room, when he had allowed him to cuff him to the headboard. The affection was there, warm and open, and the touch of it made him shiver with happiness.

But Yugi had no idea what he was doing to him.

And Yami was afraid that if he admitted it, the other teen might stop.

It was childish to him, of course, but he could not fight away such an instinct. Instead he embraced it, holding it to himself with fear and wondrous desire. He would hold it in the dark and nurture it.

He felt his stomach turn.

Like he did with his grudges.

And his more prominent desires.

And his nightmares.

And his fears.

And his memories.

And his—

Yugi was suddenly beneath him. Yami was unsure when they had moved. But the smaller teen was beneath him, brow raised and eyes on his face. Yami stared at him, unable to move. His mind was racing.

His abuse.

He hid that in the dark of his thoughts too.

And fuck if there wasn't so much abuse.

He didn't remember some of it.

But what his dad had alluded to—

He let out a ragged breath. The rope knots pressed into his wrists gently. Yami stared at the other boy for a moment. That was Yugi. That was Yugi. That was _Yugi_. It was _Yugi_ and he could—

He couldn't do this.

For a moment he seemed okay, simply surprised by the new position. His fingers pressed lightly against his chest, his red eyes focused on his collarbones, and his head tilted slightly to the side. He seemed puzzled, frowning faintly, and for a second he merely sat still, Yugi firmly inside of him, his hands braced against his skin, watching him. He did not move for a long minute and a half, and just when Yugi thought he might, his entire body locked in place. Every single muscle in his body became tensed, to the point that the smaller boy thought he had turned into a statue right before him.

Then his nails curled and dragged themselves towards his palms. Yugi squirmed, horrified, and his eyes nearly bugged out of his head in shock at the sensation. He hissed softly, seeing something dark and desolate creeping over the other's eyes, his face seeming to cave in on itself in the moment of horror passing through his mind. His nails dug further into his flesh, drawing so forcefully he couldn't swallow the cry of pain that bubbled out of his mouth without his permission.

Yami blinked at him slowly, unsteady, and his breathing came out in a weak whimper of confusion and shock. Still his fingers kept moving, as if he had no control over them, and a shiver racked his frame. A startling and horrifying realization crept over him now, as he noticed the taller teen's shoulders rising and his head pulling downwards, his breathing quickening. The other boy was too terrified to move, though his fingers were twitching and shaking as they curled inwards, in a raw and hideous attempt to touch his own skin again. He was too scared to keep them flattened out against his chest, so horrified and lost within in his own darkness that he didn't understand any longer what was going on. He had withdrawn into himself, becoming nothing more than a shadow of the affectionate teen he had been mere moments before.

Yugi squirmed and hissed, whimpering through his teeth, as his fingers finally began to curve, catching on his navel briefly and making him shake harder. "Fuck, Yami, stop for a second," he begged, voice soft and pleading, hoping that it might somehow reach him through the strain of his fear. But his words merely made him shake harder and his head was suddenly bowed in front of him. For a moment he expected him to whimper again, but instead his hands twitched and his nails began to dig more ferociously into his skin. A new and just as horrifying thought occurred to him.

Speaking to him might not have been the best course of action. His stomach screamed with pain as he felt skin beginning to tear under his nails, shredding as if as thin as paper. He shuddered himself and he could already feel small crescent-shaped pockets of hot blood beginning to take residence there. Yami was reacting out of self-preservation now, too scared to truly know what he was doing, but instinctively lashing out as violently as he could without drawing too much attention to himself.

His fingers missed his cheek by an inch. He was panting and gasping and choking—

"Yami—"

He tensed but the name did not resonate in his head. He jerked and his skin seemed to twitch as if something moved beneath it. He remembered scarabs from that crappy _The Mummy_ movie he'd seen with Rebecca. He remembered the scene where they dug into his skin and ate at the muscles. Yugi blinked, reality slamming into him. Yami was dangerous when he was in a panicked state. He could easily hurt him if he was not careful. He could hurt himself worse than he already was—

"You're going to hate me for this, but…" He drew in a deep breath and his hands reached out to brace themselves against his shoulder blades. A hideous noise like a choked wail and a suffocating sob racked the other's thin frame, and Yugi trembled once in response. But he didn't release him and instead he jerked their bodies roughly to the side. Yami let out an animalistic snarl of confusion and retaliated as he had expected. His hands clawed at him harder but then shoved upwards, and his frame shook harder as he struggled against him. The roll was so brief that for a moment Yugi was unsure they had even truly managed it, but then he landed above him.

Yami kept his hands braced at his shoulders, moving their position, but his eyes were still wild. His face had twisted into a vicious sneer of hatred and confusion, the latter of which grew rapidly as he stared at him blankly. The smaller teen breathed out roughly, wincing at the way his stomach stung in several shallow cuts. He sighed softly, closing his eyes, and then opened them again to see that the other teen was beginning to somehow draw himself outwards once more.

The darker, hollow edge to his gaze was slowly slipping away like a cloud passing over the sun. His focus crawled forward with such small strides that he found himself heartbroken by the very sight of his hesitation. He frowned faintly and the other teen looked at him blankly for a moment before his eyes flickered towards the bondage rope that encased his wrists.

He screeched a second later. His hands came to brace at his shoulders, trying to force him away. His eyes grew further glazed. Yugi threw him backwards just as he had on top of him. He hit the pillows with a low cry of panic. Then he flinched away and tried to push again. The panic was clear in the way he trembled now.

Yugi received a punch to his cheek when he tried to whisper in his ear. The skin stung but the blow was so misaimed that he knew it would not hurt more than a second. No one would ever even be able to tell it had happened in the first place. Hopefully Yami wouldn't remember that later.

He grabbed at his wrists, drawing his hands from his shoulders. Then he pressed them back into the mattress. Yami let out a bellow of a noise, panicked. He thrashed once, seemed to realize he could not get away from him completely, and went unnaturally still. He lay there, panting every other second, then exhaling in gusts through his nose. His flailing did not resume. He did not try to push him away again.

"Yami, hey…"

His words seemed to die in the air. For all the reaction he gained, he might as well have never spoken. Yami did not move. He seemed to actually draw in and hold his breath now in order to keep from moving again. Yugi released his wrists, expecting him to lash out. But he keep his face pressed against the pillow and his eyes tightly closed.

"Darkness…?"

Yugi gently pressed his fingers into his hair, combing at his bangs. Yami let out a shuttering breath. The smaller teen wondered for a moment. What was it that he did only for Yami that he knew neither of his parents ever would have?

Well, besides having sex with him…

He almost groaned at himself.

Could he not take _anything_ serious anymore?

Fuck, his boyfriend was having some kind of panic attack and he was joking to himself. How stupid could he get? How much more useless…?

Yugi drew in a deep breath, cutting the thoughts off. Then he considered himself for a moment. What did he normally do with Yami? He doubted that touching him in any way would do much for him unless he recognized exactly what it was. Combing his hair or kissing his temple, his forehead…

Yugi shook his head.

What was it that he did?

Yami always pressed his nose into his ear and breathed when he spooned him. And when he bottomed, most often he would touch his ribs and drum his fingers along the grooves of them as a signal when he was ready.

But what did he do?

What was it that he himself did?

It was something completely unconscious.

He had never done so outside of—

That was it.

Yugi leaned forward, moving close enough to press his cheek against Yami's. He nuzzled his ear, then kissed along his jaw, and rubbed noses with him. Then he pulled back, breathing a little hard, wondering if it was a mental trick that he had even thought of it. But it took a few minutes for Yami to react.

The seconds were passing too slowly for him.

He was almost panting when Yami finally cracked an eye open. His eye slid to focus on him, glazed with fear.

"Yami, hey."

He blinked and turned his head now. But his stare was blank and Yugi knew better than to try again. He was mobile. If he reacted badly to his touch, then it would be easy for Yami to overpower him in his state of panic.

And it was still brewing in his eyes.

He could see it.

It was like smoke, some kind of swirling madness.

He drew in a deep breath.

"Yami."

He stared at it for a long moment and for that brief amount of time Yugi thought he might twist his wrists until he was free of the rope. He wouldn't have stopped him, nor blamed him had he chosen to do so. But, rather, the red-eyed teen blinked and looked towards him again. His eyes grew slightly dazed but then flashed with such clear shame that he nearly trembled at the sight of it.

He repeated his name.

Yami blinked, staring harder.

There was a hint of focus in his eyes now.

"Yami— _Yami_."

This time the other teen reacted. He blinked and his eyes opened a little wider, surprised. The fogginess cleared from his gaze. The mist rolled away. Yugi let out a relieved breath. Then he moved to run his hand through his hair. The other teen lightly moved to finger at the knot about his wrist. His fingers touched the top, then followed the line of it as far as he could reach. Slowly he considered the rope, Yugi, and then the pink lines that trailed his boyfriend's small shoulders. He cursed loudly.

"Hey, look, relax, I'm fine." He pressed a kiss to his temple, a forgiving gesture, but it made Yami's skin burn. Yugi watched him for a moment, then kissed his cheek and the edge of his mouth. "It's okay. I'm right here. You're not going to be hurt, okay? You trust me, right?"

Shame-faced, eyes on the ceiling rather than his face, Yami nodded slightly. The smaller teen felt his blood boil for a moment. Quietly, intensely, he murmured, "Yami, you have a tongue. You can form words. _Tell me if you want to keep going_."

A few seconds passed. At first the silence burned at his skin. Then the taller teen opened and closed his mouth. He still wasn't looking at him. But his voice came out low, somewhat broken. "Please…" He faltered, exhaled loudly. "Keep going."

His words were earnest, his tone striking a cord somewhere deep inside the other boy. Yugi had not considered how badly his bastard of a sperm donor might have treated him before. He did not know it all—he was _sure_ of that, if nothing else. Yami was so tight-lipped about it that he couldn't pry his mouth open with a crowbar. But it came to him now that he'd probably chained him at some point. Or perhaps they had done so at the survival camp. Yami knew how to get out of handcuffs in nanoseconds after all. It stood to reason that he'd learned the skill in order to survive at the house he had grown up in.

Yugi had not thought about it before. Yami had, after all, allowed him to cuff him to the bed. He had not considered it much before. But when he had seen him squirming and struggling and he'd clawed at him, a lot of things had clicked into place. Yami had been okay with the rope because he had been on his back. He was not on his knees or facing completely forward. He had been okay then. The moment he had flipped them over, the other teen had lost his resolve. And it had not come in shaky splinters. It had come in a blast of _bred panic_.

"Hey, can you look at me, Yami?"

It took him a long minute and a half. The pleading note was the only thing that did it. He would have scrunched his eyes shut otherwise, waiting for the impact. But the words and the fact that Yugi had not moved eventually made him look. And when their eyes locked his stomach twisted and his heart leaped into his throat.

Oh gods…

Yugi was looking at him as if he were one of the most precious things in the world. But there was something behind that look that scared him more. He seemed to be considering him, perhaps trying to see through him and into his own thoughts. Yami almost squirmed and the impulse to beg him to let him leave made its way through him. Still, he merely moved his fingers to press his fingers into the knots, nails running over the smooth fibers. It was okay. It was fine.

It was Yugi.

It was _Yugi_.

Yami drew in a breath. Then he offered him a shaky nod. "Keep going," he murmured quietly, pleading with him. It broke at the edges but it was not a true shatter of his voice nor did it come as a begging plea.

"What?"

Yami nodded slightly. "Keep going." He faltered at the incredulous look on Yugi's face. " _Please_ …"

He was close to choking on the word. He felt like he was begging. Did it sound like that? It must have, because Yugi blinked and gave him a somewhat sad look before kissing him lightly at the edge of his mouth. When he moved again, it was slow and full of hesitation. Yami reached up to touch his shoulders, closing his eyes.

If he didn't look, it would be easier when they finished, right?

He wouldn't have to see the way his weakness had disgusted him and things would be easier.

Then, when Yugi called it quits, he wouldn't have to remember the way he stared at him as if he were disgusting and worthless.

He shivered.

Yugi pressed a kiss to his temple, then to his forehead. He trembled at the touch, but tightened his fingers on his shoulders. His right hand drifted to his ribs and he drummed his fingers slightly. The smaller teen picked up speed as he always did, honoring his request without question.

Yami melted into his body moving with Yugi's, but his mind was still racing in growing distress. He tightened his grip on his skin and whined low in his throat when the other boy buried his face into the column of his neck. He wriggled and panted and arched. And he wondered how quickly Yugi would tell him to leave…

He supposed it wouldn't be much longer a wait. Yugi had sped up. He was panting against his throat. He was gasping, nipping at his pulse. He was trying to make him come at the same time as him. But Yami was almost certain that wouldn't happen this time.

He was shaking when Yugi finally stilled. But the other boy was panting and exhausted. He was sure the stress of helping him out of his panic had not helped matters. Yugi pulled away after a moment, just enough to get his weight off of him. But he didn't pull out and he hovered instead, frowning at him.

"You didn't finish."

Yami blinked at him; had he really chosen to say that instead of kick him out immediately? The thought was truly so relieving as to make him shake. He barely managed to suppress the urge at the last possible second.

"No…"

Yugi pushed his breath out in a huff, then moved to sit back on his haunches. "Do you think you'd finish in my mouth or not so much?" he asked, eyeing him curiously for a moment. Yami stared at him as if he had lost his mind. Then he moved to sit up slightly as well. "Or I could just jerk you off with my hand. I guess it doesn't really matter one way or the other."

"What?"

The smaller teen raised a brow. "What? You don't want me to?"

"I—w-why are you offering?"

Yugi blinked and then slowly narrowed his eyes, quirking his brow in a more threatening way. His eyes glinted icily for a split second, then he shook his head slowly, voice biting for a moment. "Because you're my boyfriend and you didn't finish," he said slowly, almost as if he thought Yami were too slow to comprehend the answer any other way. "And I don't want you to not come?"

He grimaced. "Yugi, that's not necessary—"

"I know. That's why I'm offering. I haven't done anything yet."

Yami blinked and shifted his weight, uncomfortable by all means. And then his chest tightened and his stomach dropped. "Fuck, I can't even ride my own boyfriend," he spat out in a horrified tone. "I can't even ride my own boyfriend properly."

The hysterical bark of a laugh that left his lips made Yugi startle before scowling at him with a shake of his head. " _Wow_ ," he said with a cynical expression. When Yami shot him a frustrated look, Yugi burst out laughing and shook his head again, scowl hideous as he stared at him angrily again. "That's what you're worried about, Yami? The fact that you couldn't stay on top for more than a few seconds? Not the fact that you could have seriously _hurt_ yourself?"

"I split your skin. I made you _bleed_ ," Yami snarled in response, glaring at him furiously. "That's not even _slightly_ okay, Yugi!"

"No, it's not," he agreed, moving to pull away from him entirely. The other boy sat up straight and the two of them eyed each other with equal frustration. "It's really not. But that's not the point. If anyone should be worried about someone, it should be me about you. _I_ am the one who triggered _you_."

"Triggered? You didn't—"

"You _panicked_ , Yami!"

His ferocity cowed him for a split second. Then he sneered, "I am well aware of what happened. You aren't the one who experienced it."

"And you aren't the one who _saw_ it."

They fell quiet for a long minute.

Yugi turned away first, glaring at his comforter and running a nail over it. His other hand moved to rub at the scratches on his stomach. The skin burned faintly, then began to lose its tension once more. "Look, it's not okay, but I…I understand why it happened, all right? It's not okay, but it makes it a lot easier to deal with."

"You shouldn't have to deal with it."

His eyes shot to his now, staring from beneath his lashes. Yami thought his gaze was glacial and his stomach cramped at the sight of it. Yugi slowly raised his head, eyes sharp and chipped with anger. "What exactly are you saying right now?" he said slowly, voice frosty enough to make his skin crawl.

"I mean that I…It's pathetic—"

" _Pathetic_?" Yugi shouted, throwing his arms up. "That's what you call pathetic? Having a panic attack? It's not pathetic! It's not at all. You were fucking _abused_ as a kid, you stupid bastard. You were constantly told that being gay was _wrong_. You grew up in a household where your sperm donor would have punished you for not _breathing the way he wanted_! You barely got out of there when you were fourteen. So, please, tell me, because I'm pretty sure my definition of pathetic is all wrong, what _exactly is it_ within _that_ scenario and _this_ that makes it 'pathetic', Yami?"

Yami flinched. He was breathing hard, staring at him. His nostrils were flaring. The taller teen had the impulse to try to grab the scissors, cut the ropes, and flee before Yugi could say anything else.

"Considering everything that has happened, it's actually pretty _fucking amazing_ that you're even to _this_ point."

Yami froze. The words were spoken so quietly that he almost did not hear them. Then he blinked, eyes stretching wide. Awkwardly, startled and unsure what more to do, the taller teen lowered his eyes to the comforter. He ran his fingers over it, ignoring the urge to both sob and puke and to flee and stay there.

He drew in a deep breath.

"Look, Yami, I just…I don't know what it is that goes on in your head sometimes," Yugi said awkwardly, unable to focus on him any longer. He licked his lips, fighting the urge to bite his nails until they bled. "But I don't think that you're pathetic. That's the farthest thing from you. I wouldn't be able to love you if you _were_. I don't think that I could ever get around that fact. It's…it's too stressful and jarring to consider."

Yami trembled faintly.

"And I do—by the way!"

He could feel him staring. And his body had grown so tense that Yami could not help but look up in his growing confusion. "Do what?" he asked quietly, bemused.

"Love you!" he blurted out, blushing faintly. "A lot…"

Yami did not know what to say, nor what to do to bridge this painful gap he could feel had formed between them. His own self-worth against Yugi's ideas of him had created a chasm that he had no idea how to navigate. So he did the only thing he could think to.

He leaned forward, kissing him softly, and then pressed his face into the hollow of his neck to avoid any further conversation. He reached out and wrapped his arms around him, sighing into his skin. And Yugi shuddered against him, a hollow noise leaving him for a split second. Then he rubbed at his back and Yami could feel it.

Yugi was going to try to shoulder his burden some.

The gesture was sweet.

But if Yami was already dying beneath it, how was he meant to be able to allow Yugi to do the same?

 **Japan is seven hours ahead of Egypt. The flight takes twelve hours and twenty-five minutes from Japan to Egypt. So, since it's early afternoon, even before school ended (which since I'm using American time instead, that puts them at around like one or two in the afternoon at the latest). So, Yami has until around twelve in the afternoon the next day that he could stay with Yugi. But that would be pushing it to the limit since all he knows is that it is meant to happen "at night". So, anyways, with that in mind, remember that I am absolutely, one-hundred-percent NOT the best at keeping up with time differences like that, so if I mess up, please bear with me.**

 **Anyways, so that is why Yami lists it as about twenty-nine hours before he has to go to Egypt (basically he's taking the flight time into account, the night that he can spend there with Yugi until early morning, and the time difference of when he arrives considering the seven hour gap). So, yeah, that's where the math comes from. If I'm wrong, please feel free to correct me. Don't do it negatively though, cause I know I suck at math. Thanks.**

 **Also, so that everyone is on the same page, Yugi wasn't going to keep going if Yami wasn't okay (and he was going to just lay with him instead of finishing until Yami pleaded with him to keep going). This is going to be an important point later in the story, by the way. So, why did Yami tell him to keep going? He felt guilty for not being able to give Yugi something that he'd clearly wanted for a while now. Yami's logic is pretty screwed up from everything that's happened in his childhood, as I'm sure anyone who knows a person who's been in a similar situation damn well KNOWS. Yami regresses hard and fast, just for everyone's sake of warning. I don't think I explained that well enough before. I don't want anyone to be unprepared for it.**


	8. Names

**Disclaimer: I own nothing pertaining to Yu-Gi-Oh**

 **Note: Story will be updated kind of sporadically**

 **Chapter Warning: HINTS OF DEPRESSION/REGRESSION, Slight Mental Breakdown, Vomiting, Feelings of Loss/Confusion and Being Overwhelmed, MENTIONS OF CHILD ABUSE**

 **It feels like it's been forever! Am I right? Fuck yeah, I know I'm right. So, here's what's going on. I have STB to keep up with posting (it's a long story and the plot is very complex so I'm trying to update it more often than I ever have any of my other stories), I've come across some issues at work that are not doing so well on being resolved, I have no free time in which I'm not totally EXHAUSTED. So, I'm going to MAKE AN ATTEMPT to keep updating this (which it is going to be sporadic as hell, let's not play) at certain intervals. I highly doubt that between STB and edits and rewrites that I will manage to completely keep up with weekly updates, which is why I changed the update schedule to "kind of sporadically". I have no set timeframe that I'll be able to update. Like at all. It's impossible to keep up with a weekly one when I barely have time to write, let alone edit and reread, and post STB on top of it.**

 **Now, that's not to say that I won't try for at least bi-weekly or monthly updates. I AM going to work on finding a way to make a schedule work to where I can get the chapter for STB typed up, then edit it halfway, wake up early and edit the rest, then work on the other stories around it. It's not going to be easy though, so forgive me if I miss an update. You're free to happily remind me (PM or review if you're a guest, whatever you want). No story is being abandoned (although I AM going to be rewriting _Umbral Oath_ and I have NO idea when I'll be able to update _The Distraction_ ).**

 **Onto the story!**

 **So, the names I gave Yami are translated as I found them on a couple of sites. So that's where you get the names and their meanings from. Put altogether, I think they would come out to basically the same thing if they were strung together. If I got them wrong, PLEASE notify me and I can change them as necessary.**

 **Guest: Yes, why yes, they ARE a hot mess. It's only going to get worse too, so be warned. Now, as for a mental bond somewhere in the story, I'm considering it. But I haven't made any solid plans for it. I'm thinking more along the lines of no to it but I might change that in the future. If it would happen, it would be for a VERY short period of time and I don't see that it would make much of a difference considering how little time it would work out for. So it's up in the air, but I definitely have put some thought towards one. And they definitely WILL end up talking about it ALL at some point! I have plans for a LOT of talks between the two of them and stuff like that.**

Chapter VIII: Names

Yugi grumbled softly in his half-awake state as he felt Yami shift a little closer towards him. The sheets pulled slightly and he yawned before trying to tug them more forcefully around himself. He had been so comfortable and the dream he'd been having was something he wanted to get back to. He didn't remember it anymore as a kiss was pressed to his shoulder, but he wanted to get back to it regardless.

"What are you doing?"

Yami snickered against his shoulder and the sheets shifted again. But the taller boy was not the kind to push him onto his back if he was truly tired. He had teased him into awareness a few times before that, even laughing and joking with him when he said he wanted to sleep more than have sex.

"Should I stop?"

He had half a mind to tell him yes. Then he yawned because his foggy mind was clearing too much to justify ignoring him now. He opened his eyes in the dark, taking in the darker sky blue shade of his walls, and then looked over his shoulder towards him. "You always get horny in the middle of the night," he grumbled, reaching out to grab at his bang and tug gently. "You need to get your internal clock fixed."

"Is that a yes then?"

Yugi snorted and rolled over onto his back. "Be gentle. I'm still waking up."

Yami laughed loudly, then moved to straddle him beneath the blankets. "I'll stop if you want," he promised. But his fingers were already working at his sides and Yugi squirmed at the light pressure of them. He scowled at him for a moment, then laughed and reached his hands up to thread his fingers through his hair.

"Don't be stupid," he teased, pulling lightly and bringing their mouths together again. He snickered against his lips. "If I didn't want to, I wouldn't have rolled over."

The taller teen snorted. Yugi pecked him again, then yawned softly and turned his head away, smacking his lips together. In all actuality, Yami would have been capable of simply rolling him over on his own, waking him and all but ignoring him if he protested. It was in his capabilities. He was somewhat stronger than Yugi was, and being taller provided him just enough of an advantage against him as well. He was highly capable of taking whatever he wanted when it came down to it. Yugi knew it just as well as Yami did.

And it amazed him at times that he was not like that.

His sperm donor had been that way. He'd only met him twice and both times he'd been horrified to even realize that the two of them were related. The first time he'd been ready to attack him in Yami's house and the other boy had threatened to cut out his organs. The second time he'd gotten punched hard in the face for helping Yami when he was puking after the warehouse incident. He'd been bleeding everywhere and all but helpless and Yugi had tried to keep him from throwing up on himself. The punch had thrown him a good length of space and shocked him.

Because it was at a moment like that that he had realized he did not know Yami nearly as well as he had pretended to. And it had been times like that that he remembered Yami was capable of doing similar things. It was in his genes. He could lash out just as easily and hideously as his dad did. He could _kill_ him if he'd wanted to. And he knew how to do it from survival camp.

But the only times he had ever truly laid a hand on him had been somewhat halfhearted. At one time he had panicked upon Yugi asking if he could be gay. He'd gone after Tea—the same girl Yugi had been crushing on before their hookup, who had been all but obsessed with Yami since first sight—and fingered her after lunch. And, when he had run off, he'd eventually found his way to Yugi's house. The ensuing fight had been one-sided, Yami knocking him onto his back and punching him so lightly—most of which missed actually—that it had not even bruised. The second time had been when he'd gone through his text messages to find out why his cousin had called him "Atem" in a text message. After that he had been pinned forcefully to the floor and then released when he had tried to run. After that Yami had tried to run off and both of them had ended up tangled on the floor, glaring and snapping at each other.

Yami had never truly raised a hand against him when it came down to it. And Yugi was more likely to lash out and punch him than he was.

And it was amazing to him.

His dad was so violent.

He'd kicked and tossed him around.

He'd beaten him senseless and put him in the hospital.

He'd left him with a fractured wrist and months' worth of pain medication he had been too afraid to take.

He'd whipped him, possibly chained him to the wall, beaten him half to death…

And yet Yami only lashed out when he was scared. And he tried so hard not to hurt anyone unless his temper snapped. He was sweet and gentle. He was vicious verbally, holding his own, and he might lash out at someone else, but he'd only truly bitten back when Yugi snapped at him.

He was capable of taking. But his nature seemed far more giving now that Yugi really thought about it. He was easily one of the strongest people he'd ever known. Just the way he offered himself rather than tried to take from Yugi spoke volumes considering. He could have easily followed in his sperm donor's footsteps.

The kiss to his neck made Yugi tremble faintly. He arched slightly and the movement pressed his chest closer to Yami's. His fingers tightened in his hair. Yami pressed a warmer, sloppier kiss to his throat. He sucked only slightly, then pressed his nose into his collarbone, breathing out softly.

"Welcome back."

Yugi snorted. "I didn't go anywhere."

"You weren't with me a second ago."

"And how would you know that?"

"Because I asked you what your middle name was around putting a finger up your ass and you never noticed," Yami drawled, laughing when Yugi's eyes grew huge in surprise. Even in the pale moonlight they had to be some of the most beautiful things he had ever seen. He smiled widely, eyes hooded with laughter and affection, the warmth budding in his stomach. "So what _is_ your middle name?"

"I don't have one."

He blinked and furrowed his brows. "No?"

"Do you?"

Yami faltered for a second, then let out a breath. "Not quite," he admitted softly, furrowing his brows and shaking his head. He looked lost for a split second, then irritable. Even in the dark his eyes grew frosty as they considered telling him. "I…My full _legal_ name in Egypt is Atem Malik Ini-Herit Sennen."

"Huh?"

"Atem after the pharaoh, which is technically just another way of calling me Ra because that's his name in human flesh. Then Malik means king. Ini-Herit is my dad's surname, which means to bring the distant one back. And then Sennen I suppose is my mom's last name…which would mean he took it for whatever reason. And that one means Millennium." He faltered, his voice quiet for a long moment, cracking around the edges. "So basically my name is Atem the king meant to bring the distant back one when you take all of the meanings together in Arabic."

"But Ini-Herit? I've never heard of that one before…"

"That's because it's ancient, from the time that Atem was still alive."

Yugi froze in place, horrified. And Yami suddenly pulled away from him entirely, backing away a couple of feet and near the edge of the bed. Yugi flinched at the cold that greeted him from the lack of blankets and then sat up. His eyes were soft in the darkness, but Yami was staring at the sheets as if they held all of the answers in the world. He had angled his head away and the smaller teen sensed a break somewhere in his mind. Something about the way Yami stared at the sheets, then flexed his fingers to draw at the cotton forcefully, made him hesitate.

Would he lash out at him?

He swallowed hard, then shuffled a little closer.

But the movement merely made Yami flinch away.

Yugi stopped short a foot from him, then closed his eyes tightly. He didn't know what to do. Something was going on in Yami's head that he just couldn't touch. It made his heart ache and he swallowed against the lump in his throat. But what more could he do than sit there in front of him? If he reached out, how could he be sure he wouldn't flinch again or run? What if he lashed out and didn't stop in a fit of panic?

"Yami…"

He blinked and raised his head slightly at his name. Then he cringed. Was that even his name anymore? When it came down to it, sure, the legal papers said… But when he went back…

Something inside of him choked him as if in a vice. He blinked rapidly and he swore his eyes were growing wet. When he was in Egypt, they would call him Atem. No one there would ever acknowledge that his name was Yami. And, oh gods, could he truly deal with that?

Could he truly deal with his father calling him Atem again?

He felt his stomach twist and coil. And he was choking before he could stop himself. Yugi responded to the noise immediately. He scrambled for the other side of the bed, reaching down towards the floor. Yami choked again, louder this time, then the air seemed to rush from his lungs. He sounded as if he were gasping for breath. But he hadn't stopped shaking yet.

Yugi pulled the trash bin over onto the bed and was alarmed when Yami snatched it from him. He threw his head over the top of it and the sound that left him was so heavy that it shook them both. He retched so loudly that Yugi could not help but flinch away.

Yami was shaking and Yugi could do nothing but stare.

If he spoke to him, would he listen?

If he reached out, who would he think was there?

If he simply watched…

He couldn't just watch him like that.

That just wasn't a possibility…

He reached out and his fingers just barely touched his arm. Yami quivered but did not pull away. He retched again and the sound made Yugi flinch. The vomit was so loud as it hit the plastic bag that he wanted to puke in response. Instead he shifted a little closer. His hand touched his elbow and he lightly touched his upper arm before slowly rubbing gently there.

What else could he do?

Yugi couldn't find it in himself to try to pull him closer. And he did not think he was capable of truly rubbing his back and whispering sweet little nothings in his ear to make him feel better. He could not think straight long enough to consider either option.

Instead he moved a little closer, then reached out and took the trashcan from him, holding it for him now. The stupid plastic shuddered when he puked again and Yugi flinched. He had never taken care of someone when they were sick.

And he had no idea what had caused Yami to—

He blinked.

His name?

Had his name been what had caused him to puke?

Was he still upset about his parents?

Or had his childhood come running to the forefront of his thoughts?

Was he still that haunted by his upraising?

Yugi drew in a deep breath and the acrid stench burned his nose for a moment. He angled his head away and stared at the comforter. In all of the time he had known him, he could not recall a single time Yami had gotten sick. The times he had stumbled out of his home upon being drunk the night before didn't count. Yami had scrambled out of the house, probably thrown up somewhere on the sidewalk, and fled long before he had even thought about it. He especially assumed that was the case the day he'd woken after saying that he loved him for the first time.

Yugi swallowed hard and licked his lips. He'd laughed in his face. Of course, he'd assumed he was still drunk off his ass. But he'd still laughed in his face. And Yami must have woken up, remembering that more than anything. He still recalled the way he had stiffened in panic when Yugi had started to wake up, asking him if he was okay right before he'd disappeared without a response.

"Are you okay?"

Yami choked, but this time it was a sob, so suppressed that it rattled his entire frame. The smaller teen stiffened, then moved the can away when he saw that Yami was turned away from it again. He shook his head rapidly, as if to answer his question, but he could tell it was distress that made him so shaky.

"Hey, I'm here…" He found himself floundering; what was he supposed to say? He'd set off something by asking him about his middle name. He had caused this. He had done this. Yugi shook his head, opening and closing his mouth. Then he leaned forward and reached out to wrap an arm around his torso, pulling him closer to him. "It's okay, darkness…"

He let out a noise that derisive before twisting his head around to look at him. "I'm sorry. I…" He'd fucked up again, was what he had done. Yugi would never admit it, but Yami was well aware. He'd fucked up as he always did. And now Yugi was trying to comfort him and he just… "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to do this."

"You didn't mean to get sick?" Yugi said incredulously. "No one really does."

Yami opened and closed his mouth, then began to move away from him. He held a hand up to his mouth almost as if he expected his teeth to fall out. He shook his head, grumbling, "I'll be back in a few minutes" and vanished in the direction of the bathroom. Yugi watched him go, then sighed softly and moved to put the trashcan down again. Then he cringed. Wouldn't it smell worse if he left it there?

He sighed again, then got up and started moving around to find some pajama bottoms to throw on quickly. Then he grabbed the bag, wincing when the vomit rolled in it audibly, and shook his head rapidly to keep himself from getting sick. He dropped it back into the bin, then swept it up again and headed out of the bedroom for a moment.

When he came back with a new bag, the old one disposed of in the kitchen trash after being tightly knotted several times, Yami was on the end of the bed. He was squirming and moving around and if he hadn't known him, he might have thought he was touching himself. But the movements were also too jerky to be sensual, and Yugi felt his stomach knotting together as he dropped the trashcan with an audible thud.

Yami flinched and spun around as if he'd been hit. His eyes were wide, terrified, and from the moonlight which graced his right eye, Yugi could see that his pupils were blown. He looked as if he were expecting him to lash out at any second. The smaller teen bit the inside of his cheek and his tone was quiet as he asked, "You leaving?"

It occurred to him only a moment too late that Yami had been about to flee because he'd left the room. It was the day after their reunion all over again. Except, instead of Yugi preparing to take off for his house and Yami possessing enough grace not to mercilessly point out his mistaken assumption, he had just cornered him by accident. The taller boy fiddled with the shirt he'd knotted up in his hands, then turned away again.

"I thought…"

Yugi felt the blood leave his face for a moment. Then he sighed softly, moving to the bed, and threw himself onto his stomach. His shoulder tapped the other's arm and Yami turned to him immediately with wide eyes. He looked up at him, eyes gentle and soft, and murmured, "Well, you're always welcome to stay instead."

It was the easiest thing he could do, the simplest one, and he hoped to the gods that it might work. He swallowed hard. Yami stared back at him, expressionless but for that shaken fissure of terror on his face. He could almost hear his heart and the rhythm of it was shaky and too fast, hammering as if he were too afraid to even blink.

"We could even last longer since you seem to finish so early all of the time."

Now he blinked a little, staring at him. The terror seemed to drift away just enough so that he could look down at him incredulously. Then he smiled faintly, the edges of it shattered with nerves, and muttered, "You fire off more than me."

He snickered and moved to bump his shoulder against his hip, grinning up at him. If Yami just lay his arm down, he would have been able to pull him by the shoulders into his lap if he'd only considered it. Yugi almost wished he would. He could roll over and play with his bangs that way. "I seem to recall one time where _you_ came early and I didn't—"

"Yes? Well I recall you telling me on one occasion that the couch cushions—"

"Mr. Happy likes what he likes. You can't tame the beast."

He chuckled, but his eyes were still troubled. Yugi could smell the mint from the toothpaste on his breath now. It was a welcome after the vomit smell, even if it was still too strong in his nose. "I'm so glad you think so," he teased playfully. His voice was shattered around the edges, the undertone exhausted, but Yugi didn't bother to comment on it. Yami was beginning to relax. That was all he wanted. For him to relax again, to become that quiet introverted personality he always was. "But he only tends to like me so I think I might have already tamed him."

His first response was that of, "That's because you put out a lot" but he felt the words dry on his tongue. If he said that, he might risk another trigger for the taller boy. How often had his dad beaten him for possibly looking at someone the wrong way? To say that he spread his legs too often he risked another relapse. And Yugi didn't think he could deal with that, not when he saw how much pain and discomfort still shone on his face now. He drew in a deep breath, then tilted his head. "Well, I shouldn't be surprised. You managed to tame me, and he tends to be part of that package…"

"Tame you?" Yami laughed, shaking his head, and his eyes were soft and bright now. He moved his hand to reach over and ruffle his hair. The shirt slipped out of the fingers of his left hand, falling to the floor. Yugi nearly trembled with the idea that he had done well to make him feel even that much safer. Of course, that hardly made it an easy battle, but it would have to do to help for the moment. The taller teen noticed the brightening in his face and his stomach rolled painfully in reprimand; how happy would he be when he found out? He could imagine Yugi losing his mind when he realized he had lied to him about babysitting Mokuba… "No one could tame you. You're the wild child. And you still dress like some kind of kinky BDSM slave."

Yugi grinned at him wickedly. "It's part of my demon attire," he said playfully. The joke was only spared a second to remember, then the other boy snorted loudly. For a single split second, they both remembered in time that day Yugi had followed him into the bathroom right after Yami had told Yugi himself, Joey, Tristan, Tea and Ushio off. Yami had called him a demon, saying that his partner would get a migraine dealing with him. And then, Yugi had coerced him into having sex with him in a stall, using their uniforms as a pillow for Yugi while he was on his back.

"I thought that was more about how you liked attention and would be willing to do almost anything for it," Yami teased, though his eyes glittered and he wrapped his forelock around his index finger and tugged lightly. Yugi smiled at him brightly at the gesture. The taller teen had only done it once or twice, but he'd noticed it sometime before that he did so when he found comfort in him. "Or because you like to keep your partner on their toes. I recall saying that you looked like the kind of person who would fuck someone senseless in an alley or be as gentle as can be from second to the next."

"Actually it was one sexcapade to the next," the smaller teen corrected, wrinkling his nose at him. "But I won't hold it against you for forgetting. Especially since 'partner' wasn't the word you used before."

He paused, then frowned thoughtfully as he considered. "Right," he commented, nodding, and then grinned at him playfully. "I insinuated your nonexistent fuck buddies. I remember now."

"Hey now, I had a fuck buddy!" He pursed his lips and sniffed loudly. "I just couldn't get rid of him. Apparently he was too attached to Mr. Happy to leave."

He laughed loudly. "Oh, is that it?"

"And maybe I was addicted to the buns, but—"

Yami burst out laughing and turned away, covering his face with his hand. Yugi burst out laughing with him and then moved to sit up, pressing into his side more pointedly. The other boy shook his head and turned his face away further, shaking with laughter. The smaller teen grinned ear to ear, eyes bright and then took his seat more comfortably beside him, dangling his legs next to his.

It took him a good minute or two to calm down, though when he glanced at Yugi he started again and turned away. Yugi was reminded, laughing as well, of the night Yami had woken from his coma at the hospital after he'd burned down the warehouse. He had told him he wouldn't laugh at him when he explained why he avoided zoos now, only to end up crying and laughing so hard he couldn't breathe. Yami was doing similarly now, glancing at him and laughing harder before turning away again.

It felt good to have him laughing like this again. It was rare to get him to crack up like this. And Yugi had struggled with the task more often than not. But Yami was harder to make laugh because he often responded to dry humor or ribbing or innuendoes. He didn't always laugh the same way about a topic as he had before and every now and then he would simply smile and shake his head.

He calmed down again enough to face him a few minutes later, then poked him in the shoulder. "You're terrible," he commented playfully, "and I can't believe you just admitted to that."

"No shame in wanting the buns," Yugi replied with a wink, making Yami snort out loud and shake his head. "I mean, the sausage is nice too, but let's be serious. The buns are totally what got me."

He snorted and shook his head again. Then he leaned forward and the kiss he pressed to his forehead was soft and lingering. Yugi was frozen at the touch, startled that the other was doing that of all things, and then relaxed again. He licked his lips as Yami finally pulled away again a few seconds later.

"What was that for?"

Was it just him or was his voice shaking? Gods, he hoped Yami didn't notice…

"I just…You make me happier than I've ever been," he said with a small shrug, though in the dark Yugi couldn't tell if he was blushing or not. He blinked, surprised by the admission, and raised a brow. Yami merely smiled at him again, then turned away. "I guess I'm just grateful that you're actually…patient like this."

He blinked wide eyes, startled, and then shook his head. "Yami, what are you…?"

"I just don't know that many people who would be willing to put up with me like this. And I'm…thankful, I guess." He paused and then turned back to look at him more fully. Their eyes caught and Yugi felt sick for a moment. Would he say he loved him again? He lived for those moments sometimes, and others he wished he wouldn't breathe the words because they were too heavy and it hurt to bear the weight of them. Now he felt the latter and it hurt to consider. He loved him; he loved him so much, but saying it was painful. He didn't like telling him that. It made him feel more vulnerable than ever. And he couldn't just ignore Yami when he said it to him.

"I…Thank you."

Yugi blinked again. Then he frowned faintly and tilted his head. "You're pretty patient too…"

"I feel like you put up with more from me than the other way around."

"That's not…" That wasn't true…at least he didn't think it was. If anything he thought Yami had a lot more to deal with just with himself than he could ever present Yugi. He lowered his eyes for a moment, then shook his head and looked at him again. "You deal with a lot more than I do."

He opened his mouth to say that Yugi had never truly made him deal with anything. He was a soft piece of paper where Yami was a razor blade. And then it occurred to him. He didn't mean just from him. He meant altogether, from himself and everything else. He meant much more than just his own little battles which they waged against each other. Yami drew in a breath, then lowered his eyes again.

"You deal with plenty as well," he said quietly, shaking his head. His mind was echoing with another night, long before then, when Yugi had called him in the early morning hours. He remembered joking with him in the bathroom, following him to his room after locking the door, waking up at his side and trying to find something to do. But mostly he remembered Yugi snapping at him, pleading with him in the only way he knew how, to listen and stop disregarding his problems as less than his, "Maybe not, but it's just as hard having people throwing microphones in my face as it is for you, Yami. And fuck if my grandfather's health is not good enough to be put up in the same amount of stress that you've accumulated."

Yami found it odd how much his world revolved around this small teen now. It was amazing to him how much he'd shifted his own thoughts and actions in order to look to him. It was surprising to him how much his axis had changed, how much he did not mind it in the slightest. He shivered and looked at him curiously for a moment.

"When was the first time you ever saw me?"

Yugi blinked and stared at him as if he had grown an extra head. "Huh?"

Yami stared at him, somehow desperate as he faced him. "When was the first time you ever saw me?" he repeated. Had everything changed for him when he had seen him that time? Was Atem right about that? Or had he simply meant to point more towards the soul catcher idea? Was it possible that the pharaoh had simply meant to poke at the concept rather than truly showing sincerity in his comment?

The small teen frowned at him, searching through his memories for a long minute. Then he sighed softly and shook his head, huffing, "The first time I ever saw you aside from a glimpse, you mean?"

He blinked. "A glimpse?"

Yugi stared at the carpet for a moment. "Yeah, I got little glimpses of you in passing at school every now and then. But you were always in and out of the building so fast that I never really saw your face," he admitted.

"Oh…"

"The first time I ever saw you fully was when you were with Mai in the middle of a physical education class. Mai was standing there, kind of blocking my view, but Joey kept insisting that you were in there with her and you had to be boning her." He furrowed his brows. "Which is pretty ridiculous considering we were all fourteen at the time and she was seventeen by then. Joey was jealous because she had walked with you to school that day. And I was tired of hearing about this Yami Sennen person the girls were all drooling over…"

He blinked. "Drooling over?"

Yugi shot him a sideways look. "You never noticed?"

Yami frowned and then shook his head. "I wasn't looking for anything…" He hadn't been looking for Yugi either. But somehow he had wound up with him. It had started off a mistake, but he'd loved it all the same…

He nodded and blinked. Yami had been closed off all throughout that year of middle school and the two years of high school they had endured together. He had only steadily hung out with a total of three people, though everyone had come to know his name because of how smart he was. He had not wanted to date whatsoever, because the thought of disappointing his parents had terrified him too much and he didn't want to subject a girl to them either.

"Well, anyways, Mai had walked you to the gym and Joey would _not_ stop complaining about you being the guy she had chosen. And she was blocking my view. The coach came in, she went to talk to him, and Mana ran up to you. And that was the first time I ever saw you completely because you jumped a mile and spun around to see her and Joey said you were a wuss to react to a girl like that." He shrugged but he felt self-conscious now. "You weren't paying me a lick of attention, you were so surprised by Mana talking to you like that. And, when you finally noticed me, it was only for a second. You glanced at me, then turned back to her and started talking again. Then you and Mai ran off when she grabbed your arm."

He blinked. "You…remember it in that much detail?"

Yugi felt his cheeks heating and his voice came out somewhat harsh. "Mostly because of Joey complaining like he did, and the way the girls seemed to gravitate around you. And then, right after that, I had to listen to Tea gush about you and the two of them start fighting because Tea said you'd never sleep with…err…that whore."

Yami blinked again, then smirked in amusement. "Tea and Mai just hate each other so much. What the hell is that about?"

"Tea is an extremely jealous girl. She heard the rumor firsthand before anyone else and instantly began to hate Mai. It was like she had staked a claim on you, even though she knew how I felt about her." He shrugged and then grinned widely. "And then somehow you wound up in my pants and now we've gone from fuck buddies to dating and isn't that awesome?"

Yami snorted a laugh, raising a brow. "Yes, she totally should have been watching for her straight friend being lured away to gayness instead of another girl," he teased, shaking his head with a wide smile.

"What about you?"

"Hmm?"

"When was the first time you saw me?"

The taller teen startled at the idea. Then he considered and tilted his head to the side as he tried to think of that moment. When had he first seen him? When had he first…? Yami blinked wide eyes, then felt his cheeks heat faintly as he looked at him again.

"My first day in Domino," he admitted in a quiet tone.

Yugi blinked, sitting up straighter. "Huh?"

"My first day in Domino…You were dressed in a button-down shirt and black dress pants and you looked _pissed_. You were alone and there was a car that was leaving—some little red car. It looked like it had taken a pretty big amount of hits in the front." He considered for a moment, because now the other boy was stiff beside him. "There was a brunette with short hair in the front seat and a man with blond—"

"You saw my parents?"

Yami blinked stupidly. "Those were your parents?"

Yugi groaned and shook his head. "Yeah, that was…well, the last time they came into Domino was two years ago. They'd come down to see about me going to live with one of them and Grandpa had gotten into an argument with them both. Because, they'd decided to get remarried…and it lasted all of a few months before they divorced _again_." He exhaled loudly. "Wow, what a day to see me for the first time."

"If it makes you feel any better, I was too afraid to go near you. You looked like you might bite someone's head off."

"Yes, that makes me feel so much better."

Yami hesitated. "I had just gotten off the plane and really bad jet lag. And you were _literally_ the first face I saw besides Seto's when he went to pick me up," he admitted quietly. "I asked him who you were and he didn't know so I kind of didn't think anything of it."

"Funny that we both actually remember that kind of thing. Most of the time no one can really recall that…"

He frowned. "I remembered every time I saw you after that. I just…never truly did anything until that day in the quad." He scratched the back of his head and ran his hand through his hair, dragging it towards his bangs. "And when I did it, it was just an impulse. I decided that I wanted to see if any of you would actually challenge me like Mahado was saying. He told me that Ushio took staring contests too seriously and it made me curious…"

"He does, by the way. And if you weren't related to Bakura and Malik, he might have actually gone after you," he huffed before stopping and considering again. "It also helped that I was standing there talking to them too. Joey looked ready to try to bust a cap up your ass. And Ushio was really close to going after you before I told him to knock it off."

"Why didn't you let him go ahead and try to come after me?"

"Because I knew you hadn't done anything and it wasn't like Ushio needed to get another day of suspension." He rolled his eyes, then looked at him with his brows furrowed. "Why are you thinking about this right now?"

"I…" He blinked and shook his head, then leaned forward to press his nose into his temple. His exhale was hot against his skin and Yugi shivered with pleasure at the sensation. "I just…I was thinking about it for some reason. I…Let's go back to sleep, okay?"

Yugi nodded and hummed, then moved to shimmy out of his pajama bottoms again. Yami gave him a surprised look that he merely winked at, teasing, "Well, aside from this enlightening conversation, there are a lot more things we could be doing instead."

He looked shocked, then smiled at him and rolled his eyes as he kicked his shoes off and dropped his pants and boxers again. Yugi laughed as he lay against the pillow and reached out for him. The taller teen grabbed the ends of the sheets and comforters and pulled them over his shoulders as he stretched out above him.

* * *

Yami ran his hand through his hair, ruffling it gently. Yugi hummed quietly in response, then yawned. He reached up to swat his hand away, complaining, "We already had a third round. We're done for the night."

He chuckled. "No, little one, it's not that."

He huffed softly, then snuggled into his pillow again. "What then?"

"I have to go see about babysitting Mokuba now, okay? There are a couple of things I need to go over with Seto," he murmured, the knot in his belly tight and painful. His tongue felt heavy and he almost wished it were glued to his palate at this rate. He let out a small breath through his nose to keep from sighing, then kissed his temple. "When I go over there, I'm going to be there for a few days, okay?"

Yugi opened one of his eyes into a crack. "You told me that before, yeah," he yawned, stretching his arms out for a moment before pulling the sheets back up more comfortably. "You'll text every day, though, right?"

"Of course." _I need to find out about the time zones. I need to find out about the differences between Japan and Egypt_. _I used to know it_ … Because his parents had called him almost on the hour each time in order to find out how his studies were going the first year he had been there. He had been afraid to let anyone come to his house whenever it was brought up because of that. If they'd called and a friend had answered…

He couldn't suppress a shudder at the thought. But he'd been blocking out any connection to them for as long as he could around the nightmares. And now he couldn't recall the difference… He'd look it up when he got home and began packing. He'd have to find something that he could work with that wouldn't be too burdensome.

"I'll text you if plans change and I have to babysit for longer too, okay?"

Yugi eyed him, a suspicious gleam entering his gaze now as he looked at him fully. The weariness was all but gone now and Yami bristled faintly in the back of his mind, an alarm going off. "Why would you have to stay longer? You have three cousins, two of which can babysit him just as well as you can. Just because Seto decides to leave him alone for the week doesn't mean you have to watch him the entire time. You said it would be two days tops…"

"I know," he replied, sighing. "But, I mean, just in case. Malik and Bakura always tend to make stupid plans despite obligations. If they do, then I'll have to stay with him for a little longer."

Well, yeah, he could see that. The two of them were rather stupid when it came to plans. He could see them slacking off about obligations as well. He sighed and shook his head. "All right, just text me if it changes," he yawned. He had been hoping to spend more time with him than this. It seemed impossibly stupid that he was only going to have this small amount before school started again. He'd wanted them to spend more time together—snuggling, watching television or movies or well _anything_. He would have liked to just sit around or talk or have sex or whatever Yami wanted. Of course, now that was hardly an option. He yawned again.

"Of course, little one. I'll tell you the second I get news about it," he agreed. And he wondered how terrible a person he was for doing this, if maybe Yugi would be able to forgive him for it later. He could never tell him that he'd gone to Egypt to save him. Where was the logic in it? There was just no way he could ever possibly open his mouth and do so…

He pressed a kiss to his forehead, long and lingering. His hair smelled good and his skin was so warm to the touch. Yugi reached up and lazily hooked his fingers with his, twining them for a moment, and then pulled his hands away again. Yami wanted so badly to tell him he loved him more than anything, but to say that when he was merely meant to go to his cousin's seemed stupid. Yugi would either see him as entirely too codependent of him or grow even further suspicious and the latter seemed far more likely.

He finally pulled away, tugging gently on his forelock, and then turned to walk out the door again. His heart hurt when he glanced over his shoulder and found Yugi falling asleep again, facing the wall opposite of him. Had he even told him he loved him before they had fallen asleep again? He couldn't remember.

He just remembered the sex, the way the other boy had felt so wonderfully warm and tight around him. The way he'd whispered in his ear and clawed at his back and kissed his throat. He'd recalled his breathy exhales and the whimpering which came with each one, his name in gasps and his fingers clawing or pulling. He remembered the kisses, the way he had teased him that he just wanted to get sick and Yugi had told him he could kiss his ass if he had a problem with it.

His heart hurt more as the seconds passed. Then he turned away.

He had to do this for Yugi.

If he didn't, he'd die.

And that was not something he could allow to happen.

Yami would die first before he'd let someone hurt him.

He drew in a deep breath, opened and shut the door behind him, and took the stairs two at a time. When he got home, he'd look up the time difference, make a few notes of when he needed to text Yugi and what, and then pack. He'd have to keep that illusion up for as long as it took. Hopefully it would be no more than two days.


	9. Calls

**Disclaimer: I own nothing pertaining to Yu-Gi-Oh**

 **Note: Story will be updated kind of sporadically**

 **Chapter Warning: HINTS OF DEPRESSION/REGRESSION, CHILD ABUSE MENTIONS, Flashbacks REGARDING child abuse, BLOOD, Character Death**

 **OKAY GUYS! SO! Update is definitely late. Excuses? Do I need any? We'll say I was busy (which I most certain still am). No details necessary. Anyways! So here we go! I'm going to put an explanation in here for something that I'm going to put into the story later in the next chapter or two?**

 **I feel it's probably a very good idea to go ahead and warn you all. This story is going to get VERY DARK. Yami ALONE is going to have so many issues and triggers brought on by past experiences which DO involve more in-depth looks at the child abuse. Yami will struggle with this throughout much of the story, especially when things start to really get to the point of his depression and self-hatred overwhelming him. I'm going to make a brief list of the things that WILL be mentioned.**

 **There WILL be mentions of smothering (which is something mentioned in _Simple_ while Yami was in the hospital; his dad used to do this to him when he cried too much as a baby and it later developed into chronic mind-numbing and completely paralyzing migraines for Yami growing older), whippings (which was also mentioned in _Simple_ ), being thrown across the room, having been burned on the inside of the arm with a fire poker, being locked in a pantry for nearly two days (mentioned in _Simple_ vaguely), being starved, being tied to a tree, survival camp experiences (including being thrown into a snake pit, being attacked, near-drowning experiences). And, unlike in _Simple,_ though this WILL NOT be in detail, there IS rape. There is LITERAL, NON-CONSENSUAL RAPE that happens within this story.**

 **As for how this will affect the rest of the story? It's going to be very prominent in the storyline. This is literally the full warning I'm giving for this story as far as the bulk of issues. But each chapter WILL still have a warning of its own regarding each of these things. That way I can potentially list any triggers someone might have (because, again, I am NOT kidding when I say that _Easy_ is a fucking DARK story) and also warn anyone away from a scene that could potentially be extremely uncomfortable for them.**

 **But, anyways, Yami WILL experience flashbacks. He WILL hallucinate some of the events happening in real time once more. He's GOING to panic. He's GOING to suffer panic attacks. He's GOING to be so afraid that it'll trigger responses in him that he hasn't shown for YEARS. He WILL regress, sometimes only slightly and others to the point that he might be unrecognizable. Things get VERY HARD VERY FAST. They also tend to EXPLODE between circumstances and reactions and pain and panic. And some of these things Yugi truly CAN'T help him with. Some of them Yami will have to pick up the pieces himself and try to work on them without any outside resources. And Yugi WILL suffer in a similar way, as HE has some character growth and realizations to go through as well.**

 **I figure a warning now because next chapter things start to get much bleaker. Yami will be in Egypt. And things WILL escalate to snapping points (between family, friends and partnerships). The fluffy Puzzleshipping WILL take a pretty big hit. I'm still working on how their relationship is going to be once it gets as strained as it does, so if anyone wants to bounce ideas with me, feel free to PM me.**

 **Guest: I'm glad you love reading it so much~ I honestly think I've read this review like ten times, it surprised me so much haha. It still honestly kind of shocks and tickles me SO much~ Thank you for taking the time to tell me that! I don't really have the words to tell you how happy I am that my writing could make you feel that way. Thank you so, SO much! Rereading this actually made my day again~ Please don't worry about making any mistakes; I'm usually good at guessing if it's needed and you did really well for English not being your native language! So feel proud~!**

Chapter IX: Calls

Yami stepped into the hallway, but the sensation of creeping through the darkness and especially towards that single passage made him feel dizzy. In the dark he could not sense anyone coming, but the Puzzle was burning and pulsating with energy. And his head was pounding as his heart began to race. He blinked against the blackness and his finger touched the wall.

Immediately, a flash of pain crept through him. Feeling weak and small, Yami recoiled. But the images burst forth in his head before he could stop himself. His fingers felt slimy as a scream echoed in his ears. Along the walls blood was smeared in a long line. It came in arches and waves, splattering across it jaggedly. He swallowed a choked noise in the back of his throat.

But it did him well to understand.

The sense of loss he had gathered upon entering the house had meant something…

He stepped forward further into the darkness.

His parents were dead.

He had come late.

He had come too late…

He swallowed a pained cry.

What did that mean for Yugi?

"They are not both dead."

Yami turned his head, but the darkness had swallowed the pharaoh. In the blackness, all he could make out was a pair of red-speckled violet eyes which bore into his with a glowing ringlet of color. He tipped his head up and stared at him, silent and chilled, and could do nothing more.

"One of them…one remains."

He watched him for a moment, no more than two glowing orbs of color.

"How do you know?" he asked softly, unsure of himself. He shook his head slowly. "Are you sure?"

"I am. I sense them."

Yami hesitated for a moment, then turned away. He had never led him astray where important matters were raised. Atem was a simple spirit. He would do all he could, because, as he had said at one point, he was kin. And, if for no other reason, that made him care. The teenager cast him a sideways glance, one he was sure was anxious, and then began to slowly pace forward. His stomach tossed and sank.

"Are they still here?"

"No."

He felt dizzy with relief. They were no longer there. Yami could check on his parents and see the destruction that had been wrought without worrying about them coming for him as well. He drew in a deep breath but it was impossible to soothe the frayed edges of his nerves. He cast another glance at the spirit, his fingers trembling briefly.

He almost preferred that they were still waiting there.

It gave him a reason not to go in.

Yet he knew this house.

And he understood the darkness within it.

He knew it like no one else ever could.

Yami traced a path along the wall, brushing against it.

He knew where he was going. He knew what room awaited him.

And he knew what awaited him within it.

"Who is dead?"

There was only silence now. He glanced at him. Those glowing gems were still focused on him. But he would not speak. Yami began to shake slightly.

A memory of being tossed across the room and injuring his shoulder jumped through his mind.

He saw himself kicked in the ribs when he tried to get up.

There was yelling in his head.

There was blood against a small hand.

There was a whispering voice telling him they loved him.

There was a hand cupping his shoulder, its palm encompassing his neck.

There was a low and cruel tone in his ears.

There was a whimper.

There was silence.

There was screaming.

His cheeks felt hot and wet.

His tongue tasted of metal.

Yami trembled and then reached up to touch his face.

But there was nothing there.

He was not crying.

He was shaking.

But he was not crying.

Yami was frozen, his fingers numbed by the sensation of hatred that began to creep through him. He spat a curse, staring at the spirit, and snarled, "Did you all know? Did you and the witch _know_ that it would be like this?"

Atem was quiet for a long minute. Then he exhaled and seemed almost to turn away from him completely. "Would you have come here had you known?"

"She threatened Yugi! Of course I would have fucking come here!"

He raised his head after a moment, then sighed softly and shook his head. "But would you have come _now_ , Yami? His life is in your hands now and that is what matters. He will die in a handful of minutes if you do not act now."

Yami was frozen, staring at him, hateful and stunned. "You would have let me go in there and…" He was rasping, his voice caught in his throat, and his heart was racing with panic. He drew in a deep breath, then panted with shock. "You would have just let me…"

"Yami, this was the only way to make you come here. And he…Yami, there are things that I cannot tell you. And they will depend…" Atem was quiet for a moment. "His life will slip away in minutes. You may allow him to die choking on his own blood or you might save him now."

The answers depended on him? The answers would depend on him? Had he truly just said those words?

Yami blinked at him, then turned away again. The corridor seemed unfathomably long even as he began to move forward once more. Even in the dark he knew his way perfectly. Living within those walls had given him the ability to navigate without thought. He'd had to do so more times than he would ever care to admit. Had many times had his father locked him in the dark and forced him to find his way throughout the house?

He would turn off all of the lights but the ones within his own room. And Yami would be forced to navigate, fearful and shaking, within the darkness. He would struggle to make his way from one part of the house to the next. Often those days he was left hungry within his room. He would leave him there to struggle to find something to eat later.

"Is he worth saving?" he asked softly, weakly, feeling sick and small.

"Is _Yugi_ worth saving?"

Yami grasped the knob, then slammed his side into the wood. His wounds groaned in protest. The stitches pulled painfully. He gasped and whined pathetically under his breath for a split second. Then he breathed in roughly and felt sick to his stomach. The smell was of fresh blood, harsh and metallic. The door did not budge all of the way, however. He slammed into the wood again. His stitches pulled and ached. His breathing stunted.

The Puzzle burned against his stomach.

He backed up a few steps, then threw himself again.

The door broke, splintering.

He tossed his weight into it again.

Minutes…

He only had _minutes_.

He threw himself into the door again.

This time it gave way with a great crashing noise. The doorknob slammed into the dresser. Then it tossed back towards him. The wood was warped from his body hitting it so hard. His shoulder was bleeding again. He cursed and rolled his eyes.

He crept into the room. A low, steady gurgling noise came forward.

Yami hesitated, at the cusp of a reality he had not known would exist before now. If he decided not to help him now, Yugi would rot for his inabilities. But if he helped him now, what did that mean for _him_? He nearly groaned. He had never thought he would have to measure himself against Yugi before now. The thought had truly never occurred to him before this moment now.

His stomach tossed painfully. He narrowed his eyes.

Yugi was more important to him than anything.

But he had always hoped that it would be the two of them rather than one or the other…

He drew in a deep breath. Then he grabbed his phone from his pocket. He had been in his parents' bedroom only a handful of times. And something had obviously changed. He had never known any piece of furniture to be within range of the door before. He fumbled, then turned the flashlight on.

His eyes flickered around the room. His heart shot into his throat. The gurgling noise grew louder.

Yami doubled over, retching.

* * *

"The son of ambassador Aknamkanon is here, on the scene," the reporter announced in something like professionally-contained excitement. Yami glanced up at the name but did not bother to look towards her. The ambulance doors were held open for him to climb into but he hesitated. He could always turn and walk off. His dad could always be put into an assisted living environment…then he'd be released again to be a terror when he was healthy enough.

But what of his answers?

And what of Yugi if he did that?

Yami turned back, then grabbed the handle on the side of the ambulance, pulling himself onto the high step and inside of the vehicle. The EMTs barely glanced at him, instead rushing to stifle the bleeding. His father made a low, harsh gurgling noise. A hand moved. It almost seemed to stretch towards him.

The teen was so disjointed that he did not flinch back. It could have been a blow, one that would have knocked him out of the car, and yet he didn't think to move away. But he did not come forward either. The ambassador was holding his fingers out, though he did not know if it was an accusatory gesture or one of desperation. Yami stared at the blunt nails, the ends of his fingers which were smudged with ink.

The attacker must have known some way of getting into the house. He must have had some idea of where his father would be the moment that he needed to attack him. Yami didn't bother to glance out to where they had put his mother in a body bag. He hardly cared. His mind was racing more than ever.

He had come late. He had arrived too late to stop the attack. But then, how was anyone to know that his arrival there would have stopped it? He blinked and looked at the contours of black-stained fingers. They were still stretched towards him and he made no movement to receive them. Would the attacker have run? Would he have fled because there was an unknown in the equation of the attack?

Or would he have just charged through regardless?

Yami narrowed his eyes. Could he even count on the fact that Ishizu and Atem had said similar things? Or was he going to wind up in further trouble if he followed only their advice? What about his gut instincts?

What about the _cards_?

He would need to send for the deck…

Shit.

How long would he have to remain there?

* * *

"Do you have any comment on the status of your father?"

"Did you know something would happen?"

"What made you return to Egypt?"

"Did your father send for you?"

"Did he know that something might happen?"

"If your father survives, who will be the one to care for him?"

"Will you return to Egypt permanently to care for him?"

Yami ignored them as he paced the inside of the hospital corridor. They were not allowed inside, but they shouted their questions through the doors as if he might answer them now. The news had spread the moment he had put the phone call in. One of the police officers at the scene—he had seen them on their phone. He swore he heard his name then. They must have tipped off one of the stations. And then the news had spread from there.

He ignored them as he always had growing up. They were magpies, distracting noises with annoying faces. He paused only slightly in his pacing, turning his head. There was no news of his status yet. He had not expected any as of yet.

He did, vaguely, remember one of the medics asking his father if he knew who had done this. When he had nodded, they had prompted him to speak. But the ambassador's throat was so damaged that he had simply gurgled. And then he'd noticed Yami and everything in his body had looked entirely too shocked. He had been so sure that he would point at him, say it was him.

Instead he had gaped at him like a fish, then reached out. The movement seemed to touch the paramedics. One of the females looked incredibly moved. Yami himself was chilled to the bone that he even thought him his savior. If not for Yugi's life at stake, he would never have come.

He lowered his eyes to the tiles again, pacing faster.

Oh gods, what was Yugi going to think when he realized he had left Japan like this? He had just barely stopped apologizing for his reaction to his panic attack beforehand. He had just barely gotten out of saying, "It's not okay and you shouldn't have to deal with this kind of crap all of the time like this…"

And, oh gods, if Yugi hadn't replied the same way each time, a very simple and calm, "If I wasn't willing to deal with it, I wouldn't be here. It's not a matter of whether I want to, it's whether I'm willing to."

And when Yami had glared at him, sending him that same hateful look he'd worn minutes before, Yugi had simply sighed and shook his head in response. And he knew, in that moment, that his blue-violet-eyed boyfriend had come to realize what he had been hiding from him before. He had seemed inevitably crushed, eyes wide and horrified, his expression falling until he looked miserable. Then he'd tilted his head, watching him, and squeezed his eyes shut tightly a second later.

Yugi had seen it, the self-loathing. He'd finally noticed that the hatred was not aimed at him or the conversation. When he had truly faced Yami and repeated himself for that third time, he had seen it. He had caught onto it immediately.

"And how long do you think that will last? How long will it be before you decide that it's just too much to deal with any longer?" Yami had spat at him, fearful and shaking. Yugi had noticed and it had scared him until he was no longer breathing. When Yugi opened his eyes again, looking almost ready to lash out at him in his anger, Yami had panicked again. He'd launched himself at him, drawing him closer, kissing and trying to coax him onto his back. His fingers had worked at the clothes he'd redressed in. He'd trembled and sputtered, "W-we could do it right this time…"

And Yugi had gone still in his arms, no doubt horrified by his words.

"O-or did I ruin…?"

 _Our relationship_? _Your desire to be with me_?

"You didn't ruin anything," Yugi had reassured him, though he'd grabbed his wrists lightly in his hands and held them an inch or two away from where they had been fumbling with his shirt. The look he gave him when he'd glanced up at him in pure panic had been enough to tell him that Yugi would let him get out of the conversation this time but not again the next opportunity that appeared. He'd sighed, leaned over to kiss him on the edge of his mouth. "You didn't ruin anything, Yami, I promise."

Yami shook himself out of the memory.

Maybe he had not ruined anything then.

But surely he had now.

He ran a hand through his hair. The reporters were still shouting questions at him. He was tempted to turn and snap at them. But his nature dictated he ignore them. Until he had answers, to bother scaring them off would be premature and foolish. Besides, the silent temper hardly seemed to do well for multiple targets. It did well for a single person, but not more than one.

It was already sunrise by the time Yami began to fail in his pacing. The exhaustion had finally begun to take its toll. The red-eyed teen slowed in his steps, then reached up to run a hand over the Puzzle. Then he began to doze mentally, something far off in his mind drifting further and further out of reach. He only realized it was his consciousness and the ability to move when he found himself seated in a chair minutes later. His fingers sat on the rests, his arms draped over them, his wrists hanging off the edges. His head was tipped down. His eyes were half-closed.

Yami struggled for a moment, feeling unfocused and small for that heartbeat. Then he could hear the smoothest baritone voice, whispering a quiet, "You must rest" in his ear. He nearly balked at the idea. Then he looked up and Atem was in front of him. His hand was outstretched, his eyes kind. Yami blinked at him, stupefied for a moment, before soft sun-tanned fingers brushed against his lids and his head sagged forward.

* * *

He woke to his phone vibrating in his pocket. The air around him was sterile and harsh in his nose. A nurse had come by at some point and brought him a blanket to keep him warm. He stretched, body sagging with his disorientation. Then he reached into his pocket and groaned when the light burned into his eyes. His vision was blurry for a few seconds. Then it finally became clear again.

On the screen was a single text of _Where are you_?

Yami glanced around himself once. No way was he going to tell Seto anything about being in Egypt at the moment. He flushed and his thoughts wandered faintly down a new path. Where was his father? Had he survived the night? If Yugi's health lay in the probability of his father's life, then…

He licked his lips, turning back to the phone.

 _Yugi's house_.

It was the simplest answer he could find. And it guaranteed that Seto would not dig any further. He knew just as well as Yami that nothing at Yugi's house tended to be anything he would want to hear.

He grinned to himself slightly, then turned away.

Yugi thought he was at the mansion watching Mokuba.

Seto thought he was at Yugi's house.

He drew in a deep breath.

This was going to get complicated—and _quickly_ —if he did not keep tabs on what lies he told and to whom. He picked at his nails for a moment, phone in his lap. He would have to remember to keep them both under the impression of being with the other. If he kept Seto under such an idea, he would never think to ask Yugi seeing as he hated him. And if he kept Yugi under the idea, the smaller teen would not consider asking him twice about his whereabouts. He trusted him.

Even if Yugi did not always trust himself, he trusted Yami at least.

He was bleeding when his nail split too far beneath his teeth.

He was going to break Yugi's trust altogether soon enough.

He didn't know about the nightmares.

He didn't know about the Puzzle.

He didn't know about soul catchers.

He didn't know about Egypt.

He didn't know about the cards.

He didn't know _anything_.

If there was ever an innocent in a situation he had gotten himself tangled in irreparably, it was Yugi. And this was the one situation he could not cut ties in. If he left Egypt, he risked his boyfriend's death. If he left his father, he would never get answers and Yugi would die all the same. If he told him about the Puzzle and Atem, Yugi would most likely think it was some kind of joke. If he explained the dangers of being his soul catcher and what that was…Yugi would surely think that it was the Puzzle that brought them together and leave him as soon as he was able.

Yami shook his head.

There were so many things that he had done just recently that Yugi had no idea about. He was a bystander in a hurricane of misdeeds and fucked up circumstances. Things would come crashing down soon enough, he was sure.

* * *

Yugi decided to go to school earlier than planned. It was too frustrating being at home, the jet lag so subtle that he barely recalled it. Running the shop all day had been fun for all of thirty seconds. And now he paced anxiously with his backpack strapped to his shoulder and his eyes on his phone. He had picked a stupid short video to watch on the walk there, ignoring the way that, the moment he entered the building, everything seemed to suddenly grow quiet. He pocketed the device only after the video finished, snorting in amusement, and then glanced at them.

The first faces he saw were actually Mai and Vivian, then Tristan and Joey, Tea a few feet behind them holding her notebook to her chest. Ushio was further down the hall, watching him with predatory eyes that Yugi met with an intense, challenging expression. He'd beaten him with a chair to protect Yami just a few months back. What did he think he'd do to him if he tried the stunt he'd pulled before in the bathroom? He'd kill him before he let him rape him.

"I didn't think you'd come back until next week," Tristan commented, the first to break the silence that had come over the hallway. He trotted up to him as if nothing had ever happened to separate him from their group to begin with. Joey watched him with a mixture of curiosity and pure disgust. He'd always been homophobic and Yugi had never really bothered to hold it against him. He was what he was. But the way the brunet greeted him was surprising even to him. "Are you actually going to start attending early or are you just popping in for today?"

"I figured I'd pop in. I haven't even decided if I'll stay the whole day." He wondered how it was that Tristan didn't worry that Joey or Ushio might gang up on him for this display. He raised a brow. "Why?"

"I'll get you a pass as an observer then. It makes it easier than having all of your teachers sign your attendance slip to make sure you're allowed to start your classes again earlier than expected." He rolled annoyed hazel eyes and Yugi furrowed his brows. Then he glanced at the others, wondering if they were all seeing the same thing he was. The last time they had spent time together, he had asked him to bring Duke into their group so that he could get information on him. And it had helped to save Yami's life in the meantime. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

Yugi nodded at him, stupefied, but then shrugged. Mai was the second to come over, Vivian a few steps behind her. She didn't bother with anyone else, moving to wrap her arm around his shoulders. Had she not been so charismatic and sweet to him before when he'd been suffering through Yami's silent treatment, he might have bristled and pulled away. Instead he let her do this, blinking at her curiously.

"Welcome back—even if it is only for the day." The blonde grinned at him, winking playfully. "I wouldn't bother with the full day though. School is school and it's boring."

"I have nothing better to do for the moment."

Now the blonde looked at him mischievously. "Is he not putting out?"

Yugi felt his cheeks heat, eyes growing thrice their usual size. Then he snorted and glared at her, unable to keep from laughing. "You're a bitch, you know that?" he commented affectionately. He'd been so jealous of her whenever he'd seen the two of them together and now he was amazed.

She was a trooper to do this for him. He'd stolen away the one guy she loved, her best friend, the same one who had only trusted her enough to experiment with because he knew she wouldn't tell anyone else about it. The same one she'd stepped into the spotlight to save in front of the school and reporters, claiming to be his girlfriend when the scandal had gotten exposed on the internet. The same one who had invited her to a concert with the two of them in order to make Yugi jealous by his own admission.

She had to be the strongest person Yugi had ever met. He didn't think he could have ever done half of the things she was doing. And, when she'd spoken to him that day she'd found him collapsed in the hallway on the way to class, folded in on himself from the pain, he'd been just as amazed as he was now.

"Don't tell my potential boyfriends," Mai teased. There was no hurt or unfriendliness in her gaze and it was bewildering to see that. He would have been embittered had Yami been able to love her as more than a friend. He would have wanted to scream at her, try to somehow sway Yami his way. Instead she was purposely teasing him, playing as if he had never hurt her in the first place. How was it that she could even stand to be around him _or_ Yami? "I need to keep up the illusion that I'm just a brainless bombshell with no idea what's going on."

"Now _that_ you can't pull off."

She snorted. "I do love it when people point out how smart I am. You make me swoon, Yugi. Be careful or I might have to snatch you away from Yami." She ruffled his hair and pulled away, looking him over for a moment. "You got taller."

He blinked. "I don't think so."

"Yeah, you did. You got taller. It's slight but it's there. You used to only come up to my upper arm. You're at my shoulder now."

"Am I?" He considered, blinking at her again. Then he hummed. "Wow. And I missed my own growth spurt of like three centimeters. Amazing. That monumental event just happened and I never realized."

She rolled her eyes and shoved on his shoulder gently. "I don't know how he puts up with you. I'd probably have to tie you up and gag you just to have some fun time. You'd probably still sass me anyways, though, wouldn't you?"

"You know it, baby," he snorted. Yyugi smirked and shook his head, turning away to shift the strap on his shoulder. He wondered if Mai had any idea how amazing she actually was. If her boyfriend didn't tell her that constantly, he needed to share a few words with him. "I can't help that I am a sass master. Ask Yami. I make him cry sometimes."

Mai let out a scoff at that one. "Oh please, Yugi. I can't even see that happening ever. He could lie his way out of room without doors. And he's got the silver tongue of a devil. He's the sassiest little beast I've ever met."

"You haven't spent enough time with me."

She remembered him kissing Yami on television and snapping at Duke when he kept baiting him. She remembered him sassing the other boy endlessly, the two of them snapping at each other and the way Yami had seemed horrified but smitten all the same. He'd melted at this smaller teen's touch, like he had found the world's most precious item and it seemed to think of him in an equally beautiful way. He was sassy and vicious when Yami was involved in any way, but Yami was a monster when someone tried to outdo him verbally.

"You two are the perfect bastards to stick together. Neither of you know when to shut your mouth," she announced instead, rolling her eyes and laughing at his startled expression. "Anyways, so he's not putting out and you've come to me for advice on how to—"

"No."

"No?"

"Definitely not."

"Play along?"

"Nice try."

"And this is what I get for saving your relationship," she huffed, smiling at him brightly. "You're just lucky that you're so cute. Otherwise I think I might have to knock you out."

Yugi smirked in amusement, then shook his head. This was the same girl who had helped him off the floor when he couldn't find the strength to do it himself. Any threat she spun at him was laughable to him. After she'd found him when he'd just gotten over his breakdown in front of Yami's door the day before, he could not think of a single thing she could say which might make him take her more seriously.

For a split second he recalled that moment with perfect clarity and it hit him just as hard now as it had then. He'd refused to explain his situation, because if he had, he would have turned into a blubbering mess just as he had the day before. He'd been sure that someone could have taken a picture of him and put it on an abusive-relationship website for how bad he'd looked.

"God, you look like shit," the blonde had whispered. When she'd reached out to touch him, Yugi had recoiled slightly and stared at her with a horrified expression. He'd wanted to snarl at her, but his defensiveness was too exhausting. So he'd sat there, feeling sick, with the displeasure of the idea that Mai might touch him. He'd only wanted Yami there, and he would have gladly melted into his fingertips if he'd only appeared before him.

"I…I don't…I don't like being touched," he'd muttered. His voice had still been hoarse and scratchy from the night before. He'd cleared his throat and licked his lips, staring at her and feeling more sick as the seconds passed.

"Yugi," she'd said gently, crouching in front of him now, "look around you. It's just you and me here. If you need to say something…"

Yugi had simply stared at her as if she had lost her mind. He'd been too shocked and confused to think straight. She'd lost Yami to him and she was there offering him comfort? The entire concept had been mystifying to him.

"Is this about…?"

Mai had trailed off but he'd known her question. His eyes had cut to the floor and he'd wished he cold get up. But he hadn't had the strength and the very idea had proven itself beyond exhausting.

"What's going on? Did he hurt you?"

"He would never hurt me."

Not intentionally. No, never intentionally.

"Okay, so then what's going on…?"

Yugi had shrugged because he had been too tired to try to explain. And he hadn't understood it all either. Why had Yami been ignoring him? Had he upset him? He had initially assumed that maybe it was because he had not seen him off from the hospital after he'd woken from his coma. But he'd sent that text message explaining his absence and not once had Yami responded after that…

"Let me see your phone."

He'd stared at her for a long time and then slowly dug into his pockets. The action had been mechanic and automatic, his mind telling him to question it but his mouth too dry to force the words out. He'd even wondered if Yami had been upset by his laughing at the orangutan story. He'd worried that somehow he had offended him with just that, that somehow he'd wounded him beyond repair and Yami was sick of it and didn't care to try anything else with him.

So he'd handed it to her and blinked a few times as she scrolled through it. It had taken him only a moment to realize that she was going through his messages and contacts. He'd stared up at her, numb and mindless as he wondered what she was doing.

"I see," she'd announced, handing it back to him.

"See what?"

"What's got you so down," the blonde had said easily, outstretching a hand. "Now let's get you off the ground so we can fix this, shall we?"

Yugi had stared at her offered hand, blinking several times. Her fingers had been freshly manicured and her nails a beautiful bright pink. He'd been surprised by the color of them against the soft tan of her skin. And then he'd thought of those long digits that had touched him everywhere and he'd wondered at her actions.

There had been—and still _was_ —truly only one thing that had connected them.

It had boiled down to one name, one person, a small touch of reality shared between them.

Yami.

The thought had been jarring enough to make him grasp her hand. She'd pulled him to his feet and lightly bumped hips with him. "So he's avoiding you, hmm? That's a typical Yami thing to do. He gets freaked out or even mildly scared and his first instinct is always to run. He's always been cowardly that way. It's when someone else gets involved and the obstacle is pointed towards them that he stands up to it." She had smiled at him, shaking her head with a sad expression in her eyes. "He avoided me for the first few days after we had sex. He was afraid that I was mad at him. I had to corner him on the roof when we were at lunch to get him to talk to me."

"I don't…I can't do that to him."

"I know, Yugi. And you won't have to. Just have a little faith in him. He'll come around. He just needs some time." She had paused and sighed. "I know it hurts, sweetie. I know. And I'm sorry that he's putting you through this. But if I were to try to get him to talk to you, it would be the wrong thing. He'd shut himself further off from us both."

"But this isn't fair. He…fucking dick." And then he'd faltered for only a second before a string of curses had left his lips. He had wound up breathless by the time he'd stopped, eyes wide and face curled into a snarl. Then he had looked at her again, startled, and frozen in place. "I didn't mean any of that…"

"I know." Mai had nodded and flipped her hair over her shoulder with a wide grin. "But it feels nice to vent, doesn't it?"

"Yeah…um…t-thanks for listening, I guess?"

"Anything to get that glum look off your face. It doesn't belong there."

"I owe you one…"

"No, you just have to make and _keep_ Yami happy and we'll be even."

"I think I can do that."

"I know you can. You just have to do it."

"This…I know that this probably isn't the easiest thing for you to do, considering—"

"Yugi, I promise you, it's fine. Yami loves you. I never had a chance in the first place." Yugi had stared at her, stunned by the way she simply smiled at him. The edges had been sad but her eyes were bright with friendliness. "At the end of the day, even if he had wound up bi, I think—well, no, I _know_ he would have chosen you. He would have fallen for you no matter what."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because I know him. And he doesn't let people in easily. He's one of the hardest people to make friends _and_ maintain a relationship with. He's just…he's not willing to put himself out there to be hurt after everything else that has happened. And I think…I think he saw something worth it in you."

"We only wound up in this situation because he was drunk."

Mai's entire face had lit up and she'd smiled at him beautifully. "Then you should have asked yourself why he wound up at _your_ house instead of his." She had paused and shaken her head. "Think of it this way, Yugi. He chose you. When he was vulnerable and drunk and unable to even think straight, he _chose you_. He didn't choose me or some random person from school. He chose _you_."

There had been a long minute of silence before Yugi had finally whispered, "I'm sorry, Mai."

"It wasn't meant to be, Yugi. It's as simple as that. Don't worry about it anymore, okay? Now, just remember that he'll come back to you. He chose you and he'll stick with you. Just give him a little time. He'll work out whatever is going on in his head and he'll scurry right back to you."

She hadn't been wrong. Yami _had_ chosen him. Even back then, inebriated and stressed out, he had found his way to Yugi. And, despite it all, he had often wondered after that conversation if it had been conscious of him. Had he known that Yugi would accept him there, that he would let him do that? Had he simply gone there for some kind of verbal comfort that had morphed into something sexual and physical?

Yugi looked at the blonde now and he couldn't help but smile a little more. She was a lifesaver. He wasn't sure what he would have done had she not spoken to him that day. He wasn't even sure he would have bothered to keep coming to school or anything. It was scary for him to consider what it was that made him stay on his feet every day like that. A simple pep talk and the idea that Yami would eventually come back to him was all that had kept him going.

And it shocked him even now.

Yugi had never considered the truth of that situation as much as he did once she'd pointed it out. Yami had had a choice. He could have gone home. He could have found his cousins. He could have stayed at the bar and passed out. He could have found his way to Mai. He could have done anything under the sun.

And yet he'd given the cab _his_ address. And he'd seduced _him_. He'd stuck around with him afterwards, despite fleeing the moment he'd woken up. He'd allowed them to go further each time. He had not said he loved him for a long time but he'd been brave enough to say it the first time.

And he'd said it to _him_.

He felt like the train of thought was that of a melodramatic girl in a storybook, but it was true. When Mai had pointed it out, it had haunted him to realize it. And it made him smirk when he saw someone flirting with him and Yami sidestepping their advances with all of the grace of a monarch. He would smile, talk to them in his low baritone voice, and then return to his side as if he had not been verbally come onto. He would look at him when Yugi himself got jealous and he would smile a little, shake his head, and turn away to face him completely in an effort to put an end to it. When he was presented a day of empty time and no errands of any kind, he would call him to make plans before he would bother to try to make any of his own.

It made Yugi's skin buzz to think of that, his blood warming further in his veins.

* * *

"Mr. Kaiba…"

The brunet glanced up from his laptop, the coffee beside it still steaming. His brow rose, dismissive of her entrance, and the redhead blushed as she stepped further into the office. The glass door shut behind her and Seto gave her an irate glance as she hesitantly offered an explanation.

"There is someone on the phone for you."

"Do they have a deal to make with me?"

"I don't know for sure…"

"Well, did they ask about Dungeon Dice Monsters?"

"Well, no…"

"What about Duel Monsters?"

"Um…"

"The virtual simulator?"

"N-no…"

"Hologram projections?"

"S-sir—"

"Then why are you _here_?" he snapped, a finger tapping against the brown wood of the desk beneath him. His bright blue eyes seemed to glow beneath the fluorescents and she flinched at the glare he shot her. "I don't recall ever asking my assistant to come into my office unless it was _important_."

"She s-says—"

"If it has nothing to do with my business, then it's not important."

She ducked her head, blushing. "W-what do I tell her then?"

"Tell her I'm not here." He snorted, glancing at his coffee for a moment. The lack of his eyes on her allowed her to relax only slightly. But, as she lost some of her stiffness, his eyes snapped back up, a gleam of irritation showing there. "Why are you still here?"

She opened and closed her mouth, blushing harder. "I—w-what if she doesn't believe me?"

"Must you always speak with a stutter?" Seto snapped, sitting up straighter and leaning back in his seat. "Does she know things that she shouldn't? Is that what you are hinting at right about now? Are you a superstitious fool?"

The flinch she showed made him sneer.

"If she can't see the damn future and isn't spying on me somehow with little video cameras, then there is no way she might know of me _still being here in the building, now is there_?" he snapped, turning away again and looking towards his laptop screen. If he got another one of those damn emails from this woman who claimed she knew about his cousin, he was going to lose his mind. "Tell her I am dead for all the fucks I give. Just get her off my damn phone and leave me—"

His cell was buzzing.

The girl leaned forward curiously at his surprised expression. Between her curiosity and his shock, the two of them seemed almost mindless. Seto stared at the screen for a moment, debating answering, and then finally snatched the small device off the desk to answer it. When she remained there, he gave her a single look that sent her scurrying away as if he had raised a hand towards her.

"Yami?" he demanded quietly, settling back into his seat more comfortably. For a moment there was silence on the other line. Then, slowly, there was a rustling noise, so soft that Seto had to strain his hearing. Someone was talking, too quietly for him to hear, but the tone of it seemed urgent.

What language was…?

"Hey," Yami's voice came over the line before he could identify it, quiet and strained as if he were exhausted. There was a clicking noise, one that Seto recognized from various meetings had to be a pen. "I wanted to ask something of you…"

Seto strained his ears. There was still someone talking softly, in soothing cooing tones, something that he didn't think would have come from Yugi, no matter how drunk or sexed up he was. "Sure," he said distractedly, trying his hardest to hear more clearly. But, when he thought he might be able to identify one of the words, Yami began to talk again, voice low and crisp with exhaustion.

"I'm going to be staying with Yugi for a few days," he said slowly, but the brunet curled his lip and stared at the coffee in front of him dismissively. Why the hell did everything have to come back to that little brat? It was useless to speak against him, however, as Yami had proven on several occasions despite it all.

"You haven't asked me a question yet." He stayed quiet again, listening harder. What were they speaking? Was that even Japanese? He didn't think so, but he couldn't entirely recognize—

"I was getting to it," Yami muttered, a dismissive and cold tone creeping upon his words. His temper was shorter than usual, Seto noticed. That normally only happened when he had not slept well. What was it that Bakura had told him before? Something about how Yami had been coughing all night and gone to school choking on his own lung? That had been how he had phrased it, right?

He snorted softly and reached over to touch the styrofoam. If it wasn't completely warm on the outside, he could easily drink the steaming liquid. It was cooler than it had been a couple of hours ago. He drew it closer, taking a sip, and nearly sneered.

They'd put _sugar in it_.

That stupid bitch.

He blinked and nearly snickered. He had been around Bakura too often. When he put the cup back and propped his chin in his palm, Yami still had not responded. And all he could think about was how incompetent this new assistant of his truly was. Just because he had spent a little more time with Bakura than he could usually handle didn't mean that he was wrong in his assessment.

She should have known better than to load his coffee down with so much sugar.

Thank the gods she had not put creamer in there, however. He would have fired her in an instant. He wondered if she'd cry. His lips twitched. She had looked almost as if she might burst into tears upon his demand to know why she had interrupted him. Didn't she have any idea that CEO's had more to do than sit around and—?

"Do you remember anything about my…about my uncle?"

Seto sat up now, stiffening, and drummed his fingers against the counter as he dropped his wrist to the desk's top again. "Your uncle?" he asked slowly, drawing the words out dismissively. "Why the hell would I know anything about him?"

Yami was silent for a long moment. Someone spoke loudly and he could almost catch the edges of the words before he could hear Yami replying. The words trailed in a dialect that burned his ears. Seto sat up more notably, the blood in his veins warming with disbelief. When the other boy answered again, his voice was tight. "Never mind, I have to go."

"Wait a second."

There was a rustling noise but he knew he had caught his cousin's attention. The sneer in his voice and the way he'd cloaked the words in ice had made him stop short of whatever escape attempt he'd been about to perform. "What is it?" he asked quietly, lowly, in a voice that said he was sure he knew what he was about to ask.

"Was that Arabic?"

"Hmm?"

"That woman who spoke to you—was she speaking in _Arabic_?"

Yami was quiet only for a moment. Then he exhaled loudly and said, voice still tight but somewhat angered, "She's a tourist. She spotted me as I was going to the market. She stopped me and wants me to show her around."

Seto snorted. He needed more coffee if he was going to deal with this bullshit. "Right, have fun with that."

"Mmhmm. Bye."

"B—" He blinked, looking at the phone in surprise. Yami had hung up on him that quickly? He snorted and put his phone aside again, taking a sip. His uncle? What the hell did Yami want with his uncle?

And which one did he want to know about?

There was Bakura's father, Malik's father, the ambassador's brother and half-brother…

He sat up a little more. Had Yami ever even _met_ his father's half-brother? Had he ever even come to know about him? He couldn't recall a single instance that Yami had brought him up in conversation. And no one really mentioned any of them to begin with. Bakura's father had all but abandoned his wife and children for the sake of his mistress. Malik's father was neglectful and hardly paid them any attention. And his own parents were dead as it was.

He tapped his nails on the desk.

The coding on his laptop stared back unblinkingly.

Where was the bug in this line?

He groaned and looked at the coffee.

Yami would have to wait.

He had to get this done first.

* * *

"Yugi, hey."

The teen played with the strap of his backpack and scuffed his sneaker against the locker bottom as he hummed under his breath for a moment. The phone was quiet for a moment before he murmured, "Yeah, Yami, what's up?"

"Just wanted to ask what was going on." There was silence for a moment and then the other boy's voice came back, tired but enthusiastic. "Mokuba is passed out on the couch. I think he's napping so that I won't make him do anymore math equations."

Yugi snorted. "He's my kind of kid," he snickered. "I wish I had been smart enough to do that growing up. I would have never bothered to really get up afterwards, though."

Yami laughed softly. "And wouldn't that be a shame?" he teased. "We would never have…"

When he trailed off, the words filled themselves in Yugi's mind, a phrase that Yami did not truly use anymore but for recently in his more restless state. "We would never have fucked." He nodded slightly to himself, humming, and then stepped away from the locker altogether.

"Yeah, well, I don't think you bone me well enough to make math worth the effort."

"Um… _fucking ow_?" the other boy commented snidely, snickering after a moment. "You're an ass, Yugi."

"Thank you for noticing it. It's the most defining part of me."

"I thought it was your short size and BDSM clothing," Yami snorted, but he fell quiet again after a moment and Yugi could feel some part of him almost writhing with disdain as he considered the comment that might follow. If Yami said something about how disparaging the joke was towards himself, he felt he might be sick. But the other boy mowed through this chance, ignoring any sense of hesitation in his next words. "So, Seto is going to be a bit busier for longer than I originally thought."

"He's staying in the states for longer then…?"

"Yeah, he's…it's going to be a couple of weeks at this rate."

Yugi blinked, then looked at the phone for a moment. "A couple of weeks?"

"Yeah, it's…" Yami was quiet for a long moment and then finally sighed. It sounded as if he had dropped back into a piece of furniture and it made him bristle for a split second. He wounded exhausted and almost tiny somehow, even if it was simply through the phone. "I wasn't expecting it to happen like this, but yeah, I might be staying over here for a little while longer than I originally thought."

"Okay, but you do remember that you have two other cousins and both of them can watch Mokuba too, right? I mean, there's no reason that they can't, is there?" Yugi asked slowly, testing the words out and savoring the possible argument that might come from his very tone. "I know that Bakura and Malik aren't exactly the best with children…or humans in general, but I don't think Seto would keep them from watching his little brother, right?"

Yami hummed. "No, he wouldn't, but I offered to watch Mokuba the entirety of Seto's trip and he's been extremely excited to see me. We haven't really spent much time together and—"

"Okay, that's fine."

The clipped tone made them both pause.

Yugi fidgeted with the strap of his backpack again. Yami seemed to shift his weight. They remained quiet for a long minute. Then, finally, relenting, the smaller teen murmured, "I'm sorry. I just…I thought we would be able to spend more time together and then you tell me you agreed to babysit Mokuba and I didn't think it would take that long. I mean, I just got back from the states and…"

When he fell quiet, his immediate hope was that Yami might speak to fill the silence. Instead, what he got was so much quiet breathing that he almost lost his mind. Then, as if he could sense that Yugi was growing pained by the lack of his voice, the other boy began to mutter again.

"I know, I know. And I'm sorry. I really am. I wasn't expecting it to be such a big issue. I was expecting it to be faster than this. But Mokuba is—" There was a harsh gurgling noise. The phone seemed to drop and skid across the floor for a moment. Yugi sprang like a cat, startled, and breathed roughly as he heard Yami drop a loud expletive and scramble to grab at the phone again. The gurgling worsened for a moment. Then something clicked and Yugi could hear something that sounded faintly like a heart monitor machine.

"Are you in the hospital?" he demanded, breathing hard. "Fuck, did something happen? Are you okay? Yami—"

"N-no, I…I mean, yes, I'm in the…" He cursed again, so loudly that Yugi flinched. Then he huffed and drew in a deep, ragged breath. "I tore my stitches. They've got someone on a heart machine in the room next door while they're fixing the sutures. I wasn't expecting the patient to start moving like they—"

"But you're okay besides that?" he spat out, cutting him off completely. Yami drew in a loud, rough breath. "Your lungs and everything are _fine_? Or are you getting some medicine again? Shit, Yami, you should have told me you were going—"

"It's not that big a deal. I just…Mokuba passed out on the couch and I figured I would come to get this done before I wound up making them any worse so I…" He fell quiet again, then picked up again, voice softer and more soothing than it had been formerly. "I'm fine, little one. I promise. I just needed to get my shoulder stitched again. And the person in the room next door started trying to talk with an oxygen mask over their mouth so they sounded like they were choking. I'm sorry."

Yugi huffed and rolled his eyes. "I don't care about the person next door. I care about whether my boyfriend is hurt or getting worse."

"I'm not. I'm not hurt. I'm not getting worse. I'm okay, aibou. I just…I'm exhausted and they have to redo the stitches again." He hesitated. "I just…I didn't want you to worry about me being here so I didn't want to tell you before it was done and…I'm sorry. I'm really sorry."

"It doesn't matter. I just want you to be okay."

There was a long minute of silence. Then, voice quiet and broken around the edges, Yami asked, "What if I'm not? What if I'm never okay again?"

Yugi stumbled and nearly slammed into the locker with the force of the movement. Shakily, bewildered, he furrowed his brows and shook his head. "Darkness, what are you so afraid of?" he whispered quietly. "Why do you always assume the worst of yourself?"

For a moment there was only quiet. Then Yami sighed again and the breath seemed rattled and shaky. "I just…I don't ever know if I…I'm scared of so many things and I don't know how to list them anymore. I…I love you, Yugi. I'm just…I guess I'm scared that you're going to get fed up with me and just…" He faltered. "I'm sorry. Please, just…ignore me, okay? I…I'm going to go back to the house and see about Mokuba. I need to see if he's awake yet. I…fuck, bye, Yugi."

He didn't get the chance to breathe before the call ended.

Yugi stared at the phone, the name and length of time blinking at him furiously for a moment. Sixteen minutes… He narrowed his eyes and glanced around the narrow, empty hallway for a moment.

He'd been on the phone with Yami for sixteen minutes…

And Yami had sounded miserable and lost the entire time.

 **Japan is seven hours ahead of Egypt. Yami is exhausted from a VERY long flight (anywhere from thirteen to twenty three hours). Yami's exact location in Egypt actually isn't that important for the storyline, so it's basically any place you want to consider it being. Seeing as Yami basically tries to repress and suppress and ignore and convince himself that things could be much worse, the location itself is not all that important.**


	10. Internet History

**Disclaimer: I own nothing pertaining to Yu-Gi-Oh**

 **Note: Story will be updated kind of sporadically**

 **Chapter Warnings: Panic Attack (over the phone), Slight Flashback, Mentions of Blood and Gore and Death**

 **Okay, so a small explanation for this. Yugi causes the panic attack when he loses his temper. Because the way he starts yelling scares Yami and gives him a sense of deja vu due to being in the same room as his dad at the moment. It all kind of makes him claustrophobic, which triggers his anxiety which causes him to hyperventilate.**

 **As Bakura mentions, he HAS witnessed this happen before, but he didn't get helped in time and began to claw at his throat because he couldn't breathe. Yami explains this later in another chapter in a discussion with Yugi so it'll get more of a spotlight later.**

 **By the way, guys, the way that Tristan and Yugi look up the browsing history on the laptop is a real way to do it. I haven't done it myself, but it was one of the first things to come up when I researched the ways to do it.**

 **Also, I don't have the time to make all of my research accurate for the police investigation and things of that nature. But I will say I've watched a few interrogation videos in order to get a sense of some of the questions and the feel of the room they would be spoken to in.**

 **Seeing as Yami is innocent, however, none of the actual questioning is going to be one-hundred-percent on screen. It will probably be mentioned in later conversations rather than directly between Yami and a detective.**

 **On top of that, Yugi and Yami are basically going to be spending time at the hospital or in their hotel room rather than at his house for a few chapters. They'll go back to the house after several "weeks" (so possibly up to the next six or so chapters) has passed in the story so that they can basically comb through the house completely.**

 **Anyways, so the idea for him to have his interview on a private channel for Yugi to view is probably really unrealistic? But I liked the idea of it, especially because that information won't be completely known to the public until after his dad starts to recover somewhat as Yami keeps it more closely under wraps. You find out why in a later chapter, when he gets asked, by the way. But for now that's what's going to be said about it.**

 **I had this chapter set up for a while now and never got around to editing because I was distracted and then I couldn't find time, but hey, better late than never, right~?**

Chapter X: Internet History

Yami kicked at the chair leg for a moment, cursing and reaching up to rub at his temples. He'd fucked up. He'd just fucked up hard. He'd let Seto hear the nurse speaking to him in Arabic, telling him that his father was awake, and then he'd foolishly dropped the phone when the ambassador's heart rate had quickened. He bristled and shook his head violently at the thought. His father had seemingly reacted to something he'd said or perhaps his voice in general. He had messed up in drifting back into the room when he'd spoken to Yugi…

And he knew for a fact that Yugi might not have pushed on the subject, but he was well aware that Yami was no longer in Japan in any sense. He narrowed his eyes. Seto had been distracted; he could hear that in his voice. He probably did not care enough to investigate further why someone had spoken Arabic to him.

Yami tilted his head and pressed his forehead against the cool paint resting atop the metal of the doorjamb. A nurse passed him, blinking curiously, and he nearly spat at her in disdain before pulling himself away and moving towards the chair again. While in the ambulance, his father had nodded when he was asked if he knew the person who had done this to him.

That meant it had to be family or someone who worked for him. Narrowing down suspects as necessary would ensure some kind of clue for himself as well. He could find out who it was that had the Eye.

Yami fingered the center piece of his Puzzle and the grooves of the gold were icy against his fingertips. Someone had to have gotten the Eye. He'd killed Pegasus but the charred remains of each of those bodies had not given him even a glimpse of the Item. Someone had gone to the ruins when he was still in the hospital and they'd taken it for whatever reason.

He huffed and paced a step forward. His stomach coiled painfully and he swallowed hard as he looked around for a moment. The walls were too pale. He remembered being beneath the white, surrounded by it in mind-numbing anxiety that came in crests and waves. He remembered the way Yugi had come to see him, had admitted to calling the ambulance for him upon seeing him lying prone on the floor by the stairs.

His eyes flickered towards his father in the bed. He was hooked up to a million different tubes and machines. Yami didn't honestly care much to think of their proper names. All that he could focus on was how _painful_ it had been in the white room within Domino City's main hospital. He'd confessed to Yugi there, had argued with him and told him to fuck off, he'd had to recount the various means of abuse he'd been put through. But what he remembered most vividly looking at Yugi and saying that it was his father to force him into such a position, that it had been _him_ to throw him down the stairs. He remembered saying it, horrified by the admission and so full of shame that he had almost been unable to look towards Yugi in the first place.

Formerly, in another situation, Yami might have sneered that he deserved it. He might have mocked his facial hair and spat at him for his disgusting behavior towards his _only child_. He would have pointed out just how foolish he was, how much a bastard he was, and tormented him with the reality that, despite all of his teachings and disillusions, Yami was _not_ some kind of reincarnation of the pharaoh he shared his name with.

Now, all he could do was stare at him. The man looked small and dwarfed beneath the blankets. And the mask seemed almost too large for his face. His cheeks were swollen and bruised and one of them was covered in bandages, the red blood soaking the bottom edges of part and the other pristine white. But his jaw was bulging, the edges of it concaved from the numerous surgeries to save the shattered bones.

They had been forced to remove his right eye and completely put his face back together. His skull had been crushed and hacked. And there had been brain matter splattered across the headboard. How he had survived was beyond Yami as he stared at him now. But he looked shattered, broken, and his face was ruined, his hair shaved away. He looked nothing like the imposing bastard that had so often attacked and beaten him until he was all but crippled.

He didn't look like the monster that had…

Yami blinked and forced his eyes away from the pillow that rested beneath the other's head. He didn't need to think about that. He did not need to go that far back in his thoughts. He didn't need to recall the words that his father had spoken beforehand, how dangerous and hateful and despairing they had been to hear leave his lips.

The red-eyed teen shook his head, exhausted and mentally drained, and ran his hands through his hair with frustration. He didn't need to consider the abuse. He had lived through it once. Why would he desire it a second and third and fourth time?

 _Focus_ , he spat at himself mentally, closing his eyes tightly. He folded his fingers, nails digging into his scalp once more. He didn't need to think back to those things. He didn't need to consider it any longer. Doing so was a stupid idea. Things would grow out of hand quickly if he was not able to shake this off.

Yugi…

He had to deal with Yugi first and foremost.

He opened his eyes into slits. His scalp felt sticky, his fingers hot. His hands were shaking when he brought them down again. His nails were bloodied. He stared at them for a moment, then bit the inside of his cheek.

What did he need to figure out first?

The time difference?

Japan was seven hours ahead of Egypt.

Yami nodded slightly and picked at his nails as he began to pace now. Five pm over here was twelve am in Japan. He'd be expected to text or call him around four over there, which meant nine here. He'd have to set an alarm of some kind, a reminder that he had to do text or call him in order to keep up the façade for a little while longer…

Oh gods…

What if Yugi was already done with his bullshit?

The small teen—contrary to many popular beliefs—was not stupid in the slightest. He was vicious and acted out when he got upset. But he was not stupid by any stretch of the imagination. Yugi was much smarter than many gave him credit for. He had proven himself on several occasions, least alone in school.

Their first project together, Yami had snapped at him for even being at the table with him when they'd gone to the library for lunch. Yugi had looked up at him, eyes smirking, but the argument had lasted only a few short comments. Then the smaller teen had dug into his binder, pulling out a single slip of paper, and slid it over to him. It had been one of the few tests Yami had not made the highest grade; he'd usually tied with someone, but the teacher had never really gone into detail further than that. But Yugi had gotten the perfect grade, Yami a mark behind him, and the realization had interested him though it had not shocked him.

He shivered and looked down at his nails again. The red was still there in smears. He continued picking at them, pacing a little faster. The heart monitor was softer than he'd heard it in any television program, something that shocked him somewhere in the back of his mind. But it didn't matter much, he knew. It was just distracting.

Maybe if he synced his breathing with it…

He shivered and his entire body trembled with the force of his repulsion. He glanced out the door—he'd had to leave it open. Closing it had made the room too claustrophobic. He'd felt some sense of irrational fear that, should the door be shut, his father would leap forward from his spot on the bed, proving himself to have been feigning his wounds, and strangle him until he truly lost his life by his hands.

Yami drew in a deep breath.

He needed sleep.

He'd have to have the door open.

But it would help him to remain alert when he did awaken again…

* * *

"Bakura."

The silver-haired teen turned his head, brown eyes dismissive for a moment. A brow rose in annoyance as Yugi continued forward. His blue-violet eyes flickered towards the girl that had been standing in front of his boyfriend's cousin and nearly smirked in amusement. The brunette had begun to quickly walk down the hall, not sparing them even the slightest of backwards glances.

"We need to talk."

Bakura snorted, his eyes on the girl rather than him for a moment. And then he turned back to face him with an annoyed expression. "You just ruined my hookup and we need to _talk_?" he drawled, raising a brow again. Then he scoffed loudly and the smirk on his face was almost like a jackal staring at its prey. "And since _when_ do _we_ talk? You must have me confused with my princess of a look-alike—"

"No, you're not as pretty as Ryou," Yugi interrupted him in a sneering tone. He smirked at him widely when Bakura bristled at the comment. But the action lasted only a second. The silver-haired boy blinked, brows furrowing and lips tugging downwards on the left side of the mouth. Yugi rolled his eyes, sighing. "Besides, you're the one who looks crazy, so it works in your favor. But, anyways, I need you to call Yami."

Bakura blinked long and slow. He stared at him as if he were an alien creature. And then he curled his lip back distastefully. "Call…Yami?" he said slowly, stretching the words out for a moment. He cocked a brow and snorted loudly, smirking. "Why the fuck would I do that? Did he block you because you spread your legs for someone else?"

Yugi rolled his eyes again and huffed. _If only you knew half the story_. "If that were the case I'm sure you would never be able to get hold of him again." He pursed his lips and shook his head. "Oh, and, by the way? Vivian over there? She's got higher standards than your little one-pump-and-done routine."

Bakura blinked wide eyes, startled. And then he nodded slowly, the anger glittering in his dark brown gaze. His voice was icy when he hissed, "If you weren't my cousin's bastard lay, I would mutilate you."

"That's _if_ you could manage it."

"Don't tempt me."

"I'd lay you out but I think you'd get ideas."

"With you? The only thing you're good for is that pretty little mouth of yours."

"Mouths have teeth and I bite." Yugi smirked in amusement, then tilted his head and raised a brow. "Although, with your speed, I'm sure I wouldn't even have time to use them."

Bakura stepped closer to him. His hands had risen, aimed perfectly to shove him backwards and give him room to better ready a punch to his face. Then he breathed in roughly and moved back again, snarling, "I'm not about to get my ass suspended because of someone as insignificant as you."

"You wouldn't be fighting with me if you'd just call Yami like I asked."

"And _why_ am I doing this again? What's the point of that exactly?"

He huffed, feeling flustered now. Maybe he should have asked Malik. But if he had done that, Malik would have most likely just called Bakura to see what the hell was going on. Or texted him to have him meet them. And then the three of them would be fighting like rabid dogs. And Yugi wouldn't even have the chance to go fuck like bunnies with Yami in order to relieve some of the anger.

He sighed loudly and scratched at his wrist in an effort to keep from snarling at him in his mounting frustration.

" _Look_ , I need you to call him because I know something is going on with him. And I don't know _what_ it is. I need to find out if he'll let it slip what's going on if it's not _me_ calling him."

The other boy smirked and leaned forward, sneering, "Maybe he's got another fuck buddy."

The amusement in his voice alone was enough to make Yugi lash out in any other situation. But he held his hands at his sides, fingers twitching, jaw clenched with hatred. Bakura raised a brow, snickering, and then finally straightened again.

"What was that about teeth, Yugi?"

"I'm on probation for the possibility of rabies."

Bakura snorted loudly, laughing a second later, and then shook his head with amusement. His mouth was open in something of a puzzled expression seconds later, his tongue flipped to the side as it ran along the back of his teeth. "You mean to tell me that Yami is keeping secrets from _you_ of all people?" he asked slowly, voice seconds away from a scoff. "He has his head so far up your ass that I'm _amazed_ he can even manage such a thing."

Yugi let out a furious breath. "Just _do it_."

His nose wrinkled, eyes flashing. "Why am I—?"

"Because your cousin could be in _trouble_ for all I fucking know, okay? Do you comprehend that or should I dumb it down for you further?" Yugi spat, losing all pretense of patience he might have once possessed. "And if he's hurt and you didn't help him when I told you, _your_ body is the thing that might be found in the woods soon enough."

He opened his mouth, about to snarl. And then he fell silent for a long moment, his eyes flickering across Yugi's face. The smaller teen was giving him a glare of pure resentment, but there was still some small hint of worry and distress showing there. It was the complete opposite of the ease he normally carried himself with.

Bakura faltered for a moment longer, then huffed. Then, very slowly, the brown-eyed teen dug into his pocket for his cell. The small device was nice to see at the moment. Yugi drew in a deep breath and closed his eyes for a split second, relieved.

"And what am I supposed to say to him?"

"Just get him talking… I know something is going on and I need to figure out what it is."

He couldn't believe he was doing this. Bakura grunted and shook his head, pressing on the contact to dial. When it began ringing, he stepped towards the wall. Yugi watched him as he leaned against the structure, the way his brown eyes were narrowed and his head angled slightly towards the tiled floor. The small teen almost paced with anxiety. The phone had seemed to ring forever. A minute or two passed and then Yami's voice came over the other end, the recording.

The silver-haired teen looked at the screen for a moment, staring with blank eyes, and then hung up before the message was completely done. His eyes flickered towards Yugi and back before his stomach dropped.

Since when had Yami ever failed to answer the phone when someone called him?

He had never truly let a family member make it to voicemail unless something was going on.

"Goddamn it." Bakura dialed again, eyes flickering quickly away from Yugi once more. The small teen was staring at him with wide eyes, no doubt thinking a similar thing. When he thought of Yami not answering the phone, he was sure they both came to the singular thought of his father coming to town that day. He'd beaten him and tossed him down the stairs.

And Yugi had been the one to find him…

The phone went to voicemail again.

Bakura grit his teeth, hanging up, and went to press the dial button again. And then his screen lit up and the _Star Wars_ theme song began to play loudly. The sheer volume made Yugi flinch in surprise. The silver-haired teen smirked at him, sneering, and then answered, "Did you forget how to answer a phone there, Yami? Do we need to teach you all over again?"

There was a soft and quiet grunt, half-drowned by something Bakura had no words to describe. He furrowed his brows, straining his hearing, but could no longer catch even the faintest hint of anything.

"I was asleep."

He sounded exhausted. Bakura furrowed his brows further, frowning, and shook his head.

" _Asleep_?" he drawled, shaking his head once more. "At three in the afternoon?"

"I…I wasn't aware you had planned to keep tabs on my sleeping routines," Yami muttered. His voice was so groggy, rough, but it had begun to grow rapidly sharper as well.

Bakura frowned and considered for a moment. He didn't sound like he had _just_ woken up. Normally when he had _just_ woken up, he didn't sound like he'd been hit by a freight train. And it didn't take so long to wake him. Normally a single phone call could do it—even if it was just on _vibrate_ Yami tended to answer after the first ring. The longest stretch he'd gone—when not involved with something else entirely—had been about two or three.

"Anyways, what's going on?"

"What do you mean?"

"I _mean_ that I am asking why you're calling me. You and I haven't spoken in _weeks_ —"

"What are you talking about?" Bakura interrupted, confused and shaking his head. Yugi was leaning too close, listening in as well, and now his stomach tossed as the smaller boy stiffened. "We spoke last week. I took you to the hospital because you couldn't stop coughing. You nearly beat the crap out of Ryou for telling me. Any of this ringing a bell?"

Yami was silent for a long minute. Yugi was listening to his quiet breathing over the other end and it made his skin crawl. "You took me to…?" He trailed off again. The background noise associated with his silence was that of soft rustling, almost like blankets being moved. "I…I forgot about that…"

"Exactly. Now what the fuck kind of cold shoulder are you giving me right now?"

Yugi tilted his head, listening for the response. His eyes had darkened, Bakura noted, and his expression had grown harder. The taller teen felt sick and Yugi was staring hard at the phone in his hand, the disbelief and anger written clearly upon his face.

Something was wrong. Yugi could tell that just by the grogginess in Yami's voice. He shouldn't have been asleep. The only time he'd slept through the day had been after a fight between them, hadn't it?

He couldn't remember exactly.

But he knew it had only happened once. He had woken him, calling him to ask if he was okay. And Yami had dubbed him "little one" for the first time…

"Sorry. I'm not sleeping very well."

"Obviously." Bakura rolled his eyes and looked at his nails now. "But tell me something I don't know."

There was a long stretch of silence, a pregnant pause which made Yugi bristle.

"Like what?"

The silver-haired teen opened his mouth, smirking as an idea occurred to him. But the smaller boy had snatched his hand, grabbing the phone away from him. Bakura blinked, pushing himself off the wall as Yugi snarled, "How about where you _actually_ are?"

There was a split second of quiet.

Then Yami spat a furious curse.

The line went dead immediately after.

Yugi huffed and handed the phone back to him.

"What was that…?"

"Yami told me he was staying with Mokuba because Seto was in the states." Yugi scratched his wrist again and the flesh looked raw and pink from the attack. He paced a couple of steps. His eyes narrowed and he scowled, shaking his head furiously for a moment. "But I know he isn't with them. The last time he called me he was—"

He blinked, startled out of his train of thought. His phone had begun vibrating inside of his pocket. Yugi hesitated, then pulled it out and looked the screen over slowly.

"Yami…what the fuck is going on?"

Bakura watched with interest as a long minute of silence passed them by. He put his phone in his pocket, eyeing him as the seconds passed. Then, very quietly, Yami began to talk and the silver-haired teen had to step closer yet again in order to hear him even slightly.

"Yugi, _please_ , don't be angry with me. I—"

"I'm sorry. Did you just ask me _not_ to be angry at you?" Yugi snarled, unable to stop himself. Bakura stiffened, visibly startled by the ferocity in his voice. And his first instinct was to snap at him that he had no right to yell at his cousin like that. His second was to step back and listen. His third was to take the phone from him and try to calm Yami _before_ it might develop into something more. "Are you fucking _kidding_ me right now?"

"Yugi…"

"Don't 'Yugi' me." The smaller teen was almost trembling with his anger. His breathing had become shorter with ferocity as he shook his head sharply. "Don't you dare even fucking _try_. You're not here in Japan! So where the fuck are you?! You don't sleep all day and—"

" _Yugi, please_ …"

He had begun rasping now, voice croaking with something shattered and irreparably broken. And he sounded almost breathless now. His tone was too high in pitch. His breathing was catching and stuttering. Yugi halted, every muscle in his body seizing in place. Shock came over him, bewildered by the sound.

And then horror clawed at his insides.

Did he sound—?

Was he—?

He blinked, drawing in a rough breath. "Yami?"

There was a singular strangled grunt of a noise.

Then came a choked one.

He trembled. "Y-Yami…"

"…Yugi…"

And then he truly heard it.

He was wheezing.

And the choked noise…

"Damn it," he cursed under his breath. But there was something of a rasping noise on the other end and Yugi trembled again. "Yami, hey—l-listen to me, okay?"

Bakura couldn't move for a moment. Between the two of them, he only had obligation to one. But it still stunned him to see the effect that it had on Yugi as well.

"Yu…" He faltered and the whistling quality each breath had taken on made Yugi flinch again. He looked like a beaten, confused child for a moment, though the distress was obvious and Bakura could see that the small teen understood exactly what was happening on the other end of the line.

Yami couldn't even manage the second part of his name. And the whistling quality was getting louder, more prominent.

He was breathing too fast…

And Yugi had no idea what he was supposed to do…

He'd never experienced it before and—

"Yami, hey, listen to me, okay? You remember me, right?"

Yugi blinked, startled. When had Bakura even _moved_? And when had he taken his phone out of his hand?

"Yeah, that's me. Here's what we're going to do, okay? Follow my instructions exactly, all right?" He waited until Yami managed to grunt a confirmation. But his breathing was more erratic than ever now. And he was choking more than he was wheezing. He was panting and gasping and choking and soon he'd start clawing at his throat like he had the first time—

Oh gods, the blood…

Bakura shook his head and drew in a deep breath.

"Inhale for four seconds, hold it for four seconds, and exhale for four seconds. You remember how to do that, right? We used to do it all the time. Come on."

Used to do it all the time?

Yugi blinked, shaking his head. Why would they have…?

His heart plummeted.

Yami had spent time with them before he'd officially moved into his house, _hadn't_ he? So Bakura and Malik probably knew all about the abuse. They had most likely witnessed panic attacks for a good majority of the time they'd been around each other.

Had they witnessed night terrors?

Had Yami ever woken screaming?

"You're okay, Yami. Just do what I'm doing." There was a pause and his voice came out firmer, nearly snapping this time. " _Try again_."

It was odd to look at Bakura and see him being so patient and understanding. Yugi supposed it had to be because of the fact that Yami was his cousin more than anything. Because the boy in front of him was no one he would have ever thought to be capable of such concern and sympathy.

Bakura was not someone that the showed the world he was capable of such feelings. He acted psychotic whenever the opportunity arose. He held people at arms' length and often appeared scornful of anything that happened.

Yugi would not have been surprised if he was a person who blamed someone's ill-comings on them entirely.

"Yeah, you're doing fine, Yami." He tilted his head and smirked in amusement. "No, now try again."

Yugi furrowed his brows.

Maybe Bakura truly _did_ care for Yami more than he let on. He listened to him instruct him once more. The quiet was impossible to break for a moment. And then, finally, the silver-haired teen snickered.

"I'll put you back on the phone with him when you don't sound like you ran a marathon."

Yugi smiled faintly, shaking his head. The seconds passed until it felt an eternity had come. And then, very slowly, Bakura listened to whatever the other boy was saying and nodded slightly. His arm stretched out, phone in his palm.

The small teen nibbled his lip, then took the device from him.

"Yami?"

He sighed and mumbled something before clearing his throat. Yugi almost thought for a split second it was something along the lines of reminding himself that it was Yugi he was talking to. "Hey, um…I'm sorry for that…"

"It's okay. I didn't… I shouldn't have yelled at you like that."

Yami was silent for what felt a lifetime. Yugi shifted his weight awkwardly several times, nearly pacing in place. He pulled his phone from his face, looking at the screen which was showing bright green to reassure him that they had not lost connection. He shivered and shifted his weight again. And then his eyes flickered to Bakura as his brown gaze bore into his face.

"I'm sorry for scaring you. I, um…I haven't…had a panic attack in years. I didn't…" Yugi glanced at Bakura once more, biting his lip until it bled. He hadn't had one in years and yet he had just triggered one? And Bakura had helped him to calm down from it? He almost wanted to sob. "It doesn't matter. What I needed to say was…I don't know how to…"

And something almost spiteful formed a knot in his gut. Slowly, deliberately, Yugi murmured, "You know, if you want to talk, I can always go see you while you're babysitting Mokuba."

Bakura stood straighter, eyes flashing hideously with open hatred. "You piece of shit," he hissed at him furiously, scowling. That entire direction of conversation had been what had caused him to fall into his panic attack in the first place, damn him.

There was a long silence on the other end. Then, a single, long, low sigh came across the line. Yami groaned, voice cracking as he sputtered out something that sounded like a furious bark of a laugh.

Had he not been so exhausted, Yugi thought Yami would have fought him.

Instead, now, he surrendered with a quiet statement.

"You already know I'm not there."

"So, where are you?"

"I…" He was quiet again. There was a shuffling movement he could hear over the other line. A voice distinctly unlike Yami's came, saying something in Arabic that Yugi could not quite catch. The teen groaned, voice ragged as he whispered, "Yugi, I can't right now. I—I'll text you the details later, but I have to go right— _Fuck_."

The line went dead. Yugi stared at the phone.

* * *

He hated to do this as he paced about the outside of the computer room. He licked his lips, narrowing his eyes, and then glanced over his shoulder. No one seemed to be nearby. No one seemed to have even paid him attention in the slightest. Yugi hummed and turned away again, tapping his fingers against the strap of his backpack. He hesitated, shifting his weight several times, and then drew in a deep and distressed breath.

He was going to be crossing so many lines the moment he truly did this. His stomach tossed and his hand hovered over the knob of the door. When he faltered a second time, his stomach seemed to swell with bile.

Yugi shook his head sharply.

He had to find out what was going on by any means…

He exhaled slowly and shook his head again, slowly twisting the knob. The click was so soft he almost thought it nonexistent and if he weren't breathing so hard he might have actually bothered to try to hear it. He pressed his shoulder into the metal, then shoved it open. The heavy door gave way just enough for him to slip inside.

"I need your help with something."

Tristan barely had time to look up from the image software in front of him. The small teen swung his backpack around, hanging off his right shoulder, and dug through the largest pocket. A dark silver laptop was pulled out almost seamlessly, then placed beside him.

Yugi took a seat in the chair beside him, looking at him with eyes that were too dark for him to read. The small teen shook his head and gestured. Tristan immediately glanced at the laptop once more, curious and bewildered.

"Yami deleted the history from his search engine. And I need to find out what site he was on last."

Tristan jerked backwards, eyes wide and brows rising with shock. He sat back against his chair and drummed his fingers with a shake of his head. "You want me to _break into your boyfriend's laptop_? You want me to check on his _search engine's history_?" he said slowly, eyes widening further when Yugi merely blinked and raised a brow dismissively. "What the fuck, dude?"

"He's hiding something." Yugi huffed and sniffed loudly, gesturing again. "And I need to know _what_."

"Okay, Yugi, this was a different story when it came to Duke. But, dude, this is _Yami_. And you're _dating_ him. So I highly doubt that he's actually hiding something from you…" He trailed off, biting his lip. The red-eyed teen was head over heels, even if Yugi might have considered otherwise. He would hardly keep something from him, especially purposefully. The only time he had truly known of that occurring, it had been with his identity. Yami had kept it well under wraps from everyone.

"Tristan, just trust me for a minute, okay?" Yugi muttered, waving off his statement and shaking his head. He glanced at the laptop sideways and sighed. "Please, just humor me. Or you tell me what to do and I'll do it and you'll never have to be directly involved."

The brunet hesitated, staring at him with a blank look of hazel eyes. He shivered as the smaller teen blinked at him, waiting for him to say something. Then he looked quickly away again, nearly groaning.

"Yugi, _seriously_? Are you actually asking me to do this right now?" he asked softly, shaking his head slowly. "You realize how upset he's going to be? He might never even forgive you for that—"

"And I'll worry about that for myself when it comes up. Just help me out with this, okay? _Please_? If you don't want to help me, then just tell me how. I'm going to find a way to do it regardless. But I'd rather have my tech friend to help me."

It would save him time, he knew, even if he did have to argue with Tristan to get it done. And it would allow Yugi to avoid having to use Yami's computer to search the way to do it. He did not want to have to go back behind himself and delete the history and risk Yami eventually finding out. It would be easier just having someone directly help him rather than researching and fumbling through it all as well; if Rebecca were still there he probably would have asked her instead. She would have done it just for the fun of looking at what might have been on his laptop to begin with.

The brunet hesitated for a long moment, looking at him and then at the laptop. He pursed his lips, glancing at Yugi sideways once more. The other boy had never been one to kiss ass. If he was saying that, then he truly meant it.

Tristan groaned, a long and low noise. Then he reached out and flipped the laptop open.

"What's the password?"

Yugi nearly trembled with relief, then moved to take the laptop from him, holding it in his lap to begin rapidly typing away. Tristan could only hear about eight letters being drummed out, all of it so fast it almost sounded as if it were all one monotonous drone of a noise. For a moment he looked the generic background picture over, then very slowly began to turn the screen back towards him, humming under his breath.

"Sorry." He drummed his fingers on his thighs and looked at him for a moment, blue-violet eyes almost glittering. He looked more bashful than he normally did, his smile slightly strained around the edges. "I want help to get at his search history. But I'm not giving away his passwords or anything like that."

"I wouldn't expect you to." He shook his head and turned back to the screen. In the corner of his eye Yugi seemed to be calming down again. The small teen leaned forward, reading over his shoulder as he began to go through the start menu to select _Run_. In the search bar he entered _cmd_ and selected okay.

"Okay, so…he deleted the search information, but the DNS cache stores the information. But the problem with this method is that it comes up with _everything_ —search history, app history. Everything under the sun."

Yugi hummed, paying enough attention to know the words coming out of his mouth. But he was far more of a visual learner than he was a listener. The brunet had learned that on several occasions before, but he still wanted to say it, just to be sure that Yugi understood the potential confusion that could come about from the method they were using.

When the black window appeared, he entered _ipconfig/displaydns_ and hit enter, drumming his fingers on the desk uncomfortably. He swallowed hard, then nearly cringed. On the screen, the first to pop up was an address he recognized well enough. And, beside him, Yugi cursed several times and reached up to press his palm into his forehead with a loud groan.

"He…"

The small teen shook his head and sighed loudly once more, covering his face with his hands. His groan came out again immediately and he ran his hands through his hair as he shook his head again roughly.

" _Goddamn it_."

"I don't…why would he go back there?" Tristan looked at his smaller friend and raised a brow slowly, confused. "He's…I thought he said he was never going back there in that interview…"

Yugi shook his head, drawing his hands away, and slammed them into the desk heavily with a deep breath of frustration. He shook his head again and looked at him with frosted eyes. "I don't know why he went back there. But he has a reason." He had to think that. Because if he didn't think that, he could never convince him of that. And what if he couldn't convince himself that Yami was doing it for the right reason? What if he let his mind go off on its own tracks and—?

He bristled, shoving the thought aside.

Yami wasn't cheating on him with someone from his past.

That was ridiculous.

He drew in a deep breath, something which rattled within his lungs.

No, Yami was all but devoted to him. He adored him. He had told him that himself in not so many words. He loved him more than anything. He knew that. He was the one that he ran to when things got too terrible for him to handle alone. He would open up to him about the things he couldn't anyone else.

He was the one he had fought his father for.

He was the one he had confessed to love so many times.

Yugi shook the train of thought off.

"He got on that site a few days ago and bought tickets." The small teen nodded a few times, getting to his feet and looking the laptop over for a long minute and a half. He could deal with that. He could figure out where to go from there. He knew where Yami was. He knew how to contact him. He still had his phone. He had a universal sim card. He could answer him any moment. He could call him at any moment.

And he wasn't going to ignore him.

He knew that.

Yami was not that person. When he got scared he liked to hide, but when it involved others, he would attempt his hardest to find a solution. And, if it was Yugi in the melee, he would do anything and everything in his power. Yugi knew that.

He would bank on that until his last breath.

He reached over, closing the black window on the screen and very slowly folding the laptop shut. He drummed his fingers and looked at Tristan for a moment, voice quiet as he murmured, "Thank you for this. I owe you one."

"Yugi, just…" Tristan sighed and shook his head. "Dude, just be careful, okay? If you approach this the wrong way, you're either going to scare him or put him on the offense. He might get violent."

Yugi snorted and looked at him, raising a brow. "Yami? Violent? _With me_?" he laughed, pausing and then covering his mouth before guffawing once more. Then he shook his head and smirked at him. "Tristan, I don't think you know him well enough."

The other boy shook his head, voice quiet for a moment as he searched his face. "I don't think you've paid enough attention to his dad."

The smaller teen's amusement was gone in a second. He blinked, then scowled, furious as he spat, "He's _not_ his dad!"

"No, but he's still got his genetics. Yugi, I don't think for a second that he'd purposefully hurt you. But…I've seen him when he's lost his temper. I was there when he attacked Duke. And I was there when he and Joey faced off. And I _watched_ him beat the crap out of Ushio more than once. He's…he's not violent by nature. But he's _got a breaking point_."

"I do too. But I don't see you warning everyone away from me."

"Look, I'm not telling you that he's some kind of monster or something, okay? I don't know him that well. And I'm sure you're the only one besides his cousins that he's close to. But I just mean that you need to be careful sometimes. You need to be ready for backlash if something happens, okay?"

"Yami wouldn't hurt me."

He sighed. "You're not listening."

Yugi fell quiet for a long minute, then closed his eyes and shook his head. He remembered seeing Yami swallow a knife, then regurgitating it later that same day, using it to get out of his bindings to wander that warehouse. And he recalled him killing those men, catching them on fire right after. He remembered it all with perfect clarity.

But that was nothing he would ever tell someone else.

He looked at Tristan again, shaking his head. "I think I owe you a lot more than just one favor," he said slowly, quietly. The brunet blinked and furrowed his brows. "That thumbdrive of information that you gave me… It had so much that I needed."

He blinked, hazel eyes widening further. "Huh?"

"It…saved Yami's life." _It saved_ my _life_ , he thought with a small flicker of disbelief swelling within his gut. He drew in a deep breath, then shook his head. "So, I owe you more than just a little favor. But I need to get in touch with him so I'm going to have to talk to you later, okay?"

Tristan opened his mouth to object, somehow thrown by the direction of the conversation. He wanted to jump to his feet and follow him, though he wasn't sure if he meant to warn him again or just reassure him that he didn't owe him anything. But Yugi had turned on his heel, laptop tucked under his left arm, and begun trotting for the door.

Yugi could feel his stare until the moment he stepped outside the room. The moment the door shut again, he quickly tucked the laptop back into his bag and pulled his phone from his pocket. His palm was sweating, itchy, and he felt sick to his stomach for a moment. His hand was shaking as he quickly dialed the number.

He'd memorized it long ago.

After the incident of his father returning to his home, and beating Yami to a pulp as he had, Yugi had found himself unconsciously memorizing both it and the landline. He had been relatively panicked, sickened by the fear of it all. And he had come to realize that, similarly, Yami had done the same.

The phone continued ringing.

Yugi paced a few steps.

His voicemail message came into his ears.

Yugi paced again, then hung up and dialed once more.

His voicemail message came back several minutes later.

He hissed and hung up, pacing again.

Finally Yugi turned away from the idea of speaking to him. If nothing else, Yami would eventually call him back. Or he would—

His phone vibrated in his hands. He blinked, eyes wide with shock. The only text in the message was a small link which he furrowed his brows at before looking at the sender. Initially his phone had simply shown the number. And, in his desperation, Yugi had not fully recognized it.

Now he stared at his boyfriend's name and slowly turned back to the URL he had sent him. He shifted his weight, looking around to make sure no one was around. It did not seem to be a video but he was not going to risk being overheard or seen in any way.

He drew in a deep breath, then shook his head.

The URL had been translated, a laborious task for his phone for whatever reason. The page had to be translated twice, then reloaded as it sluggishly worked down the finer details of proper grammar. Yugi furrowed his brows, then tilted his head and narrowed his eyes in frustration as he at first skimmed the article.

It took him only a moment to realize that the page had loaded in the middle rather than at the top. Yugi blinked and scrolled upwards before freezing in place, stomach dropping as he felt dizzy. He nearly swayed on his feet. His throat felt tight with tension. His hands were shaking and his head was spinning, a groan beginning to swell in his lungs.

 _Family of Ambassador Found Brutally Mutilated, Wife Dead and Husband in Critical Condition_ was the immediate headline to greet him. Yugi closed his eyes and reached up to tug at his bangs.

His lungs felt entirely too tight.

His phone vibrated again and he looked towards the message which greeted him there as well, eyes widening in bewilderment.

 _I can't talk right now_. _I'll text you in an hour with details_.

* * *

The hour passed with Yugi pacing about in his house. Thankfully his grandpa was manning the shop and had checked on him only once beforehand. Since he had not followed him up the stairs, Yugi had the impression that he would not soon barge into his room. So he drew in a breath and tilted his head, waiting.

It took only a minute after the hour mark for another text to come in.

This time a single URL stared back at him again.

Yugi hesitated for a long minute. Then, finally, fighting with his own impulse to flee the very room, he clicked on the URL. For a moment he could not tell which app had opened on his phone. But the video logo stretched across his screen, startling him, and slowly Yugi felt his stomach knot with horror.

The title was not placed properly and he could see the red recording dot in the corner which said that it was live. The video was grainy at first, all but black and dark gray at first. And then, very slowly it began to show more, focusing. And, as the vision grew clearer, Yugi wanted to cover his face and groan with distress.

The edges of the frame were still somewhat fuzzy, but he could get the focus of the shot. There was a large brown table in the middle of the room, the walls were white with faded gray in certain spots. A larger man sat in a seat on one end, and a slimmer figure dressed in black and dark blue was seated across from them. Their hair was disheveled and the stress was clear upon their face. They were freshly dressed and bathed, but their clothes were wrinkled from obvious distressful movements of pacing and tugging on the sleeves. Their fingers were on the table, the long digits pristine but tapping faintly with distress.

Yugi shook his head and groaned again.

 _Oh, Yami_ …

His nail tapped loudly. The camera seemed to focus completely now. Yugi could see the smallest touch of sweat upon the inside of his left palm. His skin was soft in the light of the room and the tone was beautiful as usual.

The red-eyed boy raised his head slightly as the officer entered the room. Then he settled back into his seat, watching him with dark eyes and considering his expression for a long moment or two.

"All right, so take us through your time within the house."

Yami listened to the camera for a moment, the soft whine which came from it in the blank static white of the room. Then he glanced towards it and away again. He drew in a deep breath, sat forward, and folded his hands to steeple his fingers.

"I was contacted by my father to meet with him for something he told me would be very important for me. It was about three days or so prior to today." He kept his voice steady, eyes focused on the man in front of him. If he looked at the camera, he felt he might flinch. Yugi was watching him. He could feel it. He knew he was watching, because he had sent that link. And Yugi was not one to ignore such a thing. Especially when it came from him. He would have looked and watched even if it had been nothing more than a stupid cat video or a joke that made no sense. The Puzzle burned against his skin, fraying his nerves but somehow soothing them all the same. He kept his eyes on the bridge of the man's nose. It gave the illusion of paying full attention, of staring into his eyes, without the force of such a thing. "I got the ticket two days after as I was not inclined to come to begin with. But he asked me and so I came after much deliberation. When I got to the door, I noticed that it appeared to be locked. But the window was busted."

There was a moment of silence. Yami struggled to think straight for a split second. Had he even bothered to use the door? Or had he gone in through the window? What had he…? He could not remember for a long heartbeat.

"I… The spare key hidden at the guest house was hanging inside the lock. I remember thinking it was ridiculous to see it there. It was out of place and odd. But I realized that it was just terrible planning on the assaulter's behalf, I suppose." Yami twitched his fingers and ran his nails over his knuckles, scratching softly for a moment before shaking his head. "I don't remember much of it but the house smelled of blood and I realized that the only place it could have been coming from was my parents' room. It was the only room in use so it had to be theirs. Prior to my moving out, there were some housekeepers and maids to maintain the house. But…I am unsure of if they were there that morning or not."

"And when you entered the house, what was the state of it?"

Yami was silent for a long moment, then exhaled loudly. "It smelled of blood. And…perhaps sweat? And I could not hear anything for the most part. But I could not see in the dark. I grew up in that house, so I didn't need the lights. I knew my way around without too many problems." He blinked a few times, then looked down at the table, scratching his knuckles once more with darkened eyes. "As for the details, all I know is that the room was _drenched_. All three walls were covered in blood and the mattress was soaked. From what I could see, my mom had tried to move at some point and had fallen over the edge of the bed. My father was still lying prone on his pillow. I thought they were both dead. But then I…heard him breathing. I called the police and an ambulance for help…"

"Was there any blood anywhere else? Did you see it anywhere else within the house?"

Yami shook his head, exhaling loudly. "I did not use the flashlight on my phone until I was sure that one of them was still alive. I had planned to call the police but I did not expect to find an ambulance necessary. I only know that, upon the EMTs arriving, I saw the window of their room had been broken as well."

Yugi watched him with wide eyes. His red gaze had grown shadowed and distant. But there was nothing harsh or terrible within them. He looked tired, more than anything else. There was no hatred or ferocity.

But then he reached up, rubbing at his shoulder self-consciously. Yugi could see the slightest twitch of the fabric beneath his palm. It was clear to him now that the wound was once again bothering him.

"From what I know as of right now, my father is in critical condition after several correctional surgeries on his face…"

The man in front of him hummed softly. Then he shifted his weight. The teenager's eyes sharpened as they flickered to the hands that rested on the table now. His shoulder was throbbing and he fought the impulse to reach up and rub at it once more.

"Would you like some water?"

Yami blinked. "No thank you."

There was a brief moment of silence. Yugi blinked, bewildered by the question. And then, uncomfortably, he noticed the way that Yami seemed to be almost shaken. He looked ashen, exhausted, and there was a visible sheen of sweat which appeared on his brow. But he was not sweating yet.

He was perhaps minutes away from doing so.

But he had not begun yet.

"You don't look well."

The red-eyed teen watched him for a moment, eyes slightly unfocused. "I have not slept well. I should assume that is understandable, seeing as I spent the night in my father's hospital room." He smothered a yawn, his jaw clenching and the cords of his neck showing roughly beneath his skin for a moment. His cheeks puffed for only a moment and his eyes flickered before he shook it off entirely once more. "I do not know much more than what I have told you so far. But…there was a handprint. It was smeared in the blood, next to my father's side of the bed, just beneath the window. I remember seeing it. But the EMTs had arrived before I could point it out. I'm sure they've already found it by now."

There was a long heartbeat of silence. Then, the man nodded slightly.

"Would you like to rest and we can resume this another time, Atem?"

Yami blinked and moved to bite his nail. The movement would have looked suspicious, nervous, if he had not closed his eyes around doing so. The expression made it look almost hesitant, puzzled, as if he were debating his answer. After a long moment he nodded, a slow movement, and pulled his hand away to run his fingers through his hair.

"I think it would be best, yes."

The officer was silent for a moment, then chuckled, "Perhaps you'll remember something after you're well rested."

Yami blinked, looking at him as he got to his feet. Yugi was relieved to see that there was no evidence of handcuffs anywhere, that his boyfriend had not been brought in as a potential suspect. Odds were he had offered the interview. Odds were he had asked them to allow him to do this and demanded the video be broadcasted on a private channel for Yugi to see.

 _Atem_ was all but royalty there. _Yami_ was nonexistent.

He was capable of playing the son of the ambassador as necessary, a complete switch from the mellow teen he truly was. Yugi shivered, wondering for a moment which persona was his more natural one. He wished he could have said that _Yami_ was, but the way he fell back into the vision that they expected of _Atem_ made him question such a thought.

He shook his doubt off as the video shut off, Yami wandering out the door. He had hesitated, but he had not turned to the camera. It was clear he was aware that he was watching, but he was also too afraid and terribly exhausted to bother with the potential fight that might erupt. So he pulled the door open and slid out of the room as if he were nothing more than a shadow with brightly colored clothes and hair tipped with fire and bangs of goldenrod.

Yugi sat there, watching as the screen turned black. When he went to the home screen of his phone once more, his stomach sank furiously. He licked his lips, then slowly tapped on the app again. As he'd expected, they'd worked quickly—no doubt at Yami's request—to have the channel destroyed. So the small teen saw nothing there for a long minute, an error displayed there, and finally looked to his home screen again…

His dad had contacted him?

How could he have not known about this?

He shook his head.

He'd been in the states. If his father had contacted him, Yugi had been in the states and Yami had been alone. In that time apart, he had most likely had tons of time to consider his move, whether he should sneak off into the night and crawl back into his bed later or ignore him.

But what was it that was so great that had caused him to go?

Yugi drew in a deep breath, then scrolled through his contacts. He'd copied Yami's cousins' numbers from his phone in order to have a way to contact him in case something happened that he wasn't aware of. Each of them had different contact names, Bakura listed as _Fuckwad Snowflake_ , Malik as _Pain in the Ass,_ and Seto as _Little Dick_. Mokuba had gotten a reasonable one—which Yami had laughed at in delight— _Tuna Fish Sandwich_. And he knew each of them by those names for obvious reasons, all four of which Yami had recognized immediately and burst out laughing at.

Now he tapped the contact _Little Dick_ and listened to the phone ring once and then twice. He tilted his head, moving to bunch his shoulders. Seto would be a fucking headache to deal with. He could already sense it. The reality of the brunet's hatred for him had always mildly surprised him and yet somehow amused him all the same. It was odd and bewildering to him.

The three cousins—so odd and unalike when it came down to it—all drew together for the sake of Yami. They had on numerous occasions. He had seen it once or twice. It had surprised him somehow. He was not truly sure as to why it was that he feared so much that they might feel otherwise.

But Yugi had seen the three of them come together the day of the warehouse being burned down. The sight of it had been overwhelming and almost enough to knock someone to their knees.

And that was the _only_ reason—the _sole_ reason—he knew that Seto would answer the phone.

He was on his feet, pacing before leaning against the wall, as the fifth ring went through. And, just as he predicted, before the seventh could go through and he would be put on voicemail, a gruff voice barked, "What?"

Yugi shook his head, rolling his eyes. "I figured out where Yami is—"

"Did you have to check your bed more than once?" the brunet sneered in a dismissive voice, cutting him off entirely. The small teen blinked, startled, and then furrowed his brows. He was telling him that he had found his cousin and he was—? "I assume he wasn't glued to the sheets too much to move?"

He opened and closed his mouth, then scowled. "I'm being serious."

"And? I'm sorry you assumed my cousin was lost at any point. I don't care for your drama in any way, shape or form, _Yugi_. You must be very confused to think for even a moment that I should care that you feel as if you have _lost_ my cousin simply because you had an argument."

He blinked. "Because we had an argument?" he hissed. "You think that I would waste my time talking to your _limp dick ass_ if it was as simple as _Yami and I arguing_?"

"You mean, there's more space in your head than just the instinct to lay on your back with your legs spread?" the brunet drawled, a vicious little sneer which made Yugi bristle, his breathing coming out tight and causing his lungs to tremble within his chest. "I'm shocked. I had thought Yami would be the one who would have to dress you properly every day, you two-dollar whore."

" _Wow_." He whistled, low and soft, and then barked a laugh. "I'm sensing some bitter virginity on the other line. How cute, _Seto_. You wear it like the little bitch you are."

"As much fun as it _is_ to swap such _blows_ with you, I find it _hard_ to have to deal with you in _any capacity_. Thank you for your mindless prattle—it makes my world go round, I assure you—but I have money to make. I'm sure you're unfamiliar with the concept, seeing as my cousin is the only reason your godforsaken game shop is still running on _my streets_ , but I am the CEO of the largest company in Domino. Do not call back soon."

Yugi opened his mouth to spit at him but the dial tone sounded. Bitterly, the small teen chewed his cheek and looked at his phone for a moment. Shit. By the gods, he needed to step up his game. Seto had utterly _roasted_ him.

He huffed and looked at his phone again.

Bakura had not told his cousins the news yet.

That was fine.

They could all deal with it when they finally pulled their heads out of their asses and decided to get in line.

* * *

"Yami?"

There was a single minute of silence, so dead on the other end that Yugi thought perhaps his phone had mistaken the connection. He blinked and shook his head, frowning, and then nearly missed his step when the other boy finally murmured, "Hey, Yugi."

He paced and shook his head again, relief making him breathe out shakily. He ignored the way Tristan watched him with wide hazel eyes, no doubt amazed by the sight of his visibly shaken expression. The small teen turned on his heel, pacing a few more steps.

"Hey, I, uh, I know I probably woke you up…"

"No, little one, I was already awake. I…" There was a drifting moment of quiet. Then he heard the rustling of what he was sure had to be a blanket. A soft beep sounded in the background and he licked his lips. Yami was back in the hospital room, no doubt curled up in a seat as he himself had done several nights in order to watch Yami as he remained in his coma after the warehouse incident. Yugi drew in a deep breath and the other teen yawned softly. "I'm sorry. Excuse me. I didn't mean to…"

"You're fine. You know I don't care." He paused, huffing out a breath. "I wanted to tell you that I…um…I'm charging your card for something."

"You're…? You know you're always free to—oh no, _Yugi, no_."

The small teen snickered. "You already said I'm allowed to."

"Yugi, please don't. I promise you there's nothing here for you."

"You're there."

"I…I came for—Yugi, I promise you. There is _nothing_ here for you. I'll be back in Japan soon enough. You don't need to uproot yourself and come here." Yami's voice had become somewhat shaky, but there was something desperate and aching, yearning even, in it which begged for Yugi not to listen to him in any sense. The other half of it was weak and quiet and despaired, pleading that he listen and refuse to come. "If you simply wait there, I'll be back in a month's time—"

"The last time we spoke, you said two weeks."

He could _hear_ him cringe. Yami groaned. "I…I know that. I'm sorry. I meant to say a couple of weeks. Yugi, this isn't like Japan at all. I—"

"Yami, was I or was I _not_ there for you when you went through this the first time?"

The taller teen was quiet for a moment, no doubt trying to work out the meaning of his words. And then he faltered, drawing in a ragged breath before exhaling weakly, no doubt shaking his head and sighing softly. "You were. You…you're the only reason I came to think that it was not unnatural and disgusting. But I—Egypt isn't accepting of it. You'd be placing yourself in danger coming here. Do you know how many riots have started simply over my being here now? Some of them are gathered outside of the hospital, waiting for me to come out. I'm being escorted by my father's own _bodyguards_ —"

"So then I guess you'll have to send them to fetch me from the airport, huh?" Yugi said, bulldozing over his argument and huffing softly. "Look, Yami, it's okay. I know it's not accepted over there. I also know that I'm going to be in trouble if I'm not careful. But I also know that you're going to break under the pressure if you're over there alone. And I'm not going to let that happen."

"Yugi…"

"You realize that homosexuals are still fired and discriminated against here in Japan, right? High school isn't the same as the adult half of it all. We might all laugh and fool around, but at the end of the day, it's not accepted. Public displays of _affection_ aren't even accepted. You do remember that, right?"

"Well…yes, but I…Japan is so much safer than over here as well…"

"You know what there's also safety in? _Numbers_."

Tristan snorted. Yugi smirked at him, a cheeky automatic response. Then he turned away again, focusing on the argument he was sure would ensue. But the seconds passed and the small teen found himself no longer pacing, furrowing his brows. Anxiety crept through his spine. He almost expected to hear wheezing. He almost thought he would hear retching and puking and Yami sputtering for breath.

Instead, amazingly, all he caught was the simple rustle of the blanket. The taller teen was not arguing with him now. He was oddly silent, simplistic in his quietness, and then, finally, the ambassador's son murmured, "If you are truly to do this, I want you to swear to me that you will be careful. I do not care what is said and done at the end of the day, as long as you're safe."

The small teen startled visibly, thrown by the statement. He blinked, eyes wide and shocked, and then opened and shut his mouth twice before clearing his throat. "Y-yeah," he muttered, clearing his throat once more and feeling his cheeks heat with embarrassment. Tristan was officially watching him with curiosity now. "I swear."

"Good." The other teen sighed loudly. Then he chuckled, "We're a pair, huh?"

"You know, compromise is how most relationships succeed."

His chuckle was softer, maybe laden with exhaustion. "I do not see much compromise with this situation."

"Not quite, but I'm going to pretend it happened."

"Yugi, I…" He fell quiet again, then shook off whatever doubt he might have initially had. "I love you. I love you more than anything. Just…I want you to remember that. Because I…I cannot promise I'll be the same person you…"

Yugi blinked, startled by the admission, and furrowed his brows. "You're Yami. It's as simple as that."

Yami chuckled, his voice so strained and broken that it hurt his heart to hear. "I wish it truly were," he commented. But this was a game of politics and, despite how much Yugi ruled the school, Yami doubted he would not end up resenting the little monarch Yami had once been raised to present. "Listen to me, however. I cannot promise to _be_ Yami. I…I'm not _Yami_ here. And I…I don't want you to think that just because I…I might change that I love you any less or… Please, just…just remember that I love you, okay?"

The smaller teen faltered and then paced a little faster. Tristan was whipping his head back and forth now to keep up with his rapid movements. Yugi huffed and nodded a couple of times, then answered, "Yeah, I understand. But you're an idiot if you think that that's what's going to scare me away. Anyways, the ticket might be on the more expensive side. I'm getting it for tonight."

He let out a nearly breathless grunt. "Tonight? Truly? Why would you not take longer to plan and—?"

"Yami, I've been to Egypt before. I remember a couple of trips there when I was younger. I promise you, I'm not worried about it. And you don't need to either. I'll be there in a few hours, okay? Just stay tight and get some rest. I'll text you when I get to the airport and you can send your new boy toys to come get me."

Yami chuckled this time, far more amused than anything else. "I pay them by the hour."

"And you pay me by the second. _So."_

The other burst out laughing, a rich noise that sounded oddly scratchy when he settled again. "All right. I'll see you when you get in. Just remember to be careful, okay? I don't want anything to happen to you."

"I promise. You'll only have to deal with one casualty today."

He hummed and his voice drifted after a few moments. Yugi listened, about to say his name, when he realized his breathing had begun to even out. The small teen drummed his fingers on the back of his phone, swallowing hard, and then disconnected the call. Yami would rest for a little while. If he had fallen asleep on the phone with him, then he must have been exhausted.

When he got there, he was sure things would be far more exhausting for them both. And that would be something which Yami would need as much energy as he could get for. He drew in a deep breath, then sighed loudly, turning to Tristan again.

"All right. We've got to find a ticket that can set out by eight. That's two and a half hours. Let's get a move on."


	11. Amazing

**Disclaimer: I own nothing pertaining to Yu-Gi-Oh**

 **Note: Story will be updated kind of sporadically**

 **Chapter Warnings: Chapter is rated MA for sexual content (lime/lemon), Slight Implications of Abuse**

 **I suck at actually getting stuff done in a timely manner if it isn't work related. It's a sad reality. I'm so sorry guys. But YEAH, so this has been sitting on my phone basically completed since the moment I posted the last chapter. Um...I basically skipped out on STB to play around with these two lovely dorks and wound up needing to get my shit together for that story and yeah... SO! Now here we are again!**

 **A little note on this. Yami's going to be showing symptoms of PTSD and suppression towards certain things. It makes him a little OOC for the lovable dork that is Simple!Yami. He's a train wreck, just saying. But for NOW I think it's accurate to say he'll be okay for the next handful of chapters (two or three at the most; don't expect any more than that, honestly). By the way, I think this is going to be the LAST warning I give before the serious stuff happens and then you'll get additional chapter warnings. The explanations aren't completely necessary when they're going to be explained in the story later as it is so...yeah.**

 **Anyways, so! The fun stuff in the chapter! The lime and lemon! Yugi does a little more than usual with his fun time with Yami, nothing as crazy as the fisting, but you'll see. He does a lot with his tongue and hand all that though, haha. Not spoiling it, but the lemon might potentially be slightly upsetting. Yami's emotional stance is pretty desperate and Yugi is pretty unsure of how to comfort him. Nothing like in the last one though, just saying.**

Chapter XI: Amazing

It had been an amazing find to get ahold of the ticket, scheduled for exactly eight o'clock. The fact that it was bumped up by a hundred dollars for convenience had done nothing to deter him in the slightest. Yugi had texted Yami hours before boarding upon finding it, telling him the cost and the estimated time of arrival. The text he'd gotten back had been a couple of hours late, the red-eyed teen apologizing and mentioning how he hadn't woken until then. Yugi had texted him what he'd hoped had been reassuring and then settled in for getting on the plane.

The second boarding had been far more painful and annoying than the first. But it had been over relatively quickly soon after that. And when he'd arrived in Egypt he'd expected to find men dressed in black waiting for him. Or maybe it would be white due to the sunlight. But instead he'd found himself facing Yami who was pacing anxiously and chewing his nails as he looked at his phone.

No doubt he'd been tracking his trip…

"What a pleasant surprise," he said, coming up to him and looking towards the baggage. Yami spun on him with wide eyes, almost as if he had not expected him to truly be there. His shock turned to relief and then quickly became warm. "I was expecting bodyguards."

The red-eyed teen tilted his head, giving him a small half-smile. "Well, I'm very invested in your body so why don't I just guard it instead?"

Yugi snorted and rolled his eyes. "You're a dork," he teased, turning away and heading for the baggage claim. Yami followed him a step behind and the smaller teen snatched his bag up, turning to him. "I figured you would still be with the sperm donor."

The other boy bit his lip, shaking his head and looking at him with an expression that seemed almost ashamed. Then his eyes flickered away and settled on a point on the farthest wall. "It makes me anxious."

Yugi almost asked if he meant because of the state the ambassador was in. But then he realized, looking at him, that Yami was haggard. And no doubt he had not been sleeping well enough to recover and hide away the bags showing beneath his eyes. And Yugi understood with startling clarity that Yami was too _afraid_ to sleep. He was too scared to stay in the hospital room for longer than necessary and he was horrified whenever he _did_ have to rest there.

Yugi wanted to hug him. He wanted to pull him closer and bury his face in his neck. But he also realized that Yami would withdraw from him, just as he had numerous times during phone calls. He couldn't hang up on him now, but he could withdraw enough to hide in the furthest recesses of his mind and simply respond to questions when he prompted.

Yugi knew he was capable of this.

He had witnessed it on several occasions.

And it was one of the most _horrifying_ things to witness when he took into account the usual passion and fire that the other boy possessed. Seeing him repress to the point of hiding away within his own thoughts and shielding himself from the outside world, his eyes a shade darker and his pupils dilated as if to give the impression of paying rapt attention, was _terrifying_.

Yugi had tried his hardest ever since the first time to never bring that reaction out of him again. Unfortunately, he'd caused it on multiple accounts and it had scared him each time. Because, no matter how hard he tried, no matter how many times he apologized and tried to draw him out again, Yami would not relinquish his shields. It could go on for minutes to hours.

Once, when they had been talking about his family, Yami had shut up and refused to speak to or look at him for a whole day. It had been devastating and Yami had not even truly realized the damage he'd done until he'd burrowed his way out from the recesses of his thoughts to see his boyfriend seated anxiously on the other side of the couch. Yugi remembered that startled, confused look on his face when he'd realized that Yugi was shaking and looked as if he might bite through the beds of his nails at any moment.

And then Yami had told him something that he had not expected him to. He'd told him, quietly, as the video in front of them lolled between two characters speaking, "I used to have to count backwards from a thousand as slow as I could whenever my dad would scream at me. It was the only thing that stopped the shaking."

He'd been horrified, because Yugi had mentioned the sperm donor and Yami—clearly hiding his discomfort before that time—had begun to slowly but surely breathe harder and then raise his shields. And he'd hidden behind them for a whole day, perhaps scared that if he came out again, he would hear his dad's voice screaming despite how long it had taken him to get back from that initial thousand. And then he would regress further and—

"So is our security outside then?" Yugi asked, shaking off the very thought. He didn't want to remember it. Yami had been so exhausted and apologetic afterwards that he simply couldn't bring himself to think about it for even a moment longer. Because, he knew now, Yami must have been trying to shield him from a much bigger part of the truth.

His dad had to have eventually caught onto that survival tactic. And he'd most likely waited it out for _hours_. And so, Yami had stretched it into _day after day_ in order to survive it and his dad would grow bored by then and—

Yugi truly hated himself for being unable to stop thinking about it.

The red-eyed teen blinked, turning to him now. "You sound more excited about seeing them than you do me," he stated with a raised brow and a slight tilt of his head.

"I see you all the time. I've never been special enough for bodyguards before. Besides, if you pay them by the hour, I want to see my competition!"

The other boy chuckled in amusement and shook his head. "Yes, they're outside. They're waiting by the car."

Yugi grinned. "A limo?"

"You make this sound like it's some kind of prom night."

"Ooh, prom night! It's a guarantee I get to sleep with you!" Yami laughed, but his eyes darted about for a moment. Yugi shook his head in surprise, startled by his slightly terrified expression. "Yami…"

The other boy's head snapped around to face him.

"You didn't even realize that we were speaking Japanese, did you?"

Yami blinked at him, startled and then slightly horrified as he considered it. Then his head turned away and he focused on the tile beneath his feet. "Right…" He shook his head and then looked at him with a grin that only made his usually brilliant eyes seem more miserable. "Let's go, shall we?"

Yugi followed him immediately when he began to walk, slinging his bag behind his shoulder with a sigh. He hoped to the gods that Yami would not be too incredibly uncomfortable the entire time that they were out and about there.

But it took an hour to get to the hospital and another twenty minutes for them to get to the hotel. And Yami stared out the window the entire time. But his nails were clicking where he picked at them uncomfortably, fidgeting miserably beside him. And Yugi didn't know how to help him, as his first instinct was truly to reach over and grab his hand. And that thought startled him enough to make him feel almost sick. He had never imagined that he'd one day consider holding someone's hand to help them calm down.

The very idea made him incredibly nervous.

When they finally got to the hotel and Yami retrieved his card key for him, Yugi followed him diligently as he led the way up the staircase rather than taking the elevator. It was surprising how adamantly Yami avoided the closed doors as they continued to the fourth floor.

"Okay, so, here we are." Yami fumbled for a moment, slid the key through its scanner, and turned the handle for him. He nudged the door open, then moved to the other side to hold it for him. Yugi was abruptly reminded of the way Yami had asked him if there were things he could do for him that morning after his grandpa's heart attack.

The room was stark white, with a curtain of red and a balcony that seemed to show more of the street than anything else. There were two king-sized beds, a clock, a couple of lamps, a little futon in the corner, and a bathroom that had sliding doors and a large pile of fluffy white towels. The television hung from the ceiling and the screen was moderately large, surprising him only mildly.

"Here, I'll take that." Yugi didn't get the chance to protest before Yami snatched his bag out of his hand and moved past him into the room. The door slid to a shut behind them and Yugi shivered as he realized that the red-eyed teen was studiously ignoring him and trying his hardest to keep himself busy now.

The smaller teen watched him as he began to dig through some of the pockets, unpacking them into the little chest of drawers Yugi had not noticed between the beds. He went as far as to sit down and cross his legs, eyes on the shirts and jeans he carefully placed. Yugi sighed softly and came to the bed nearest him.

"So, how have you been?"

Yami blinked, pausing only minutely in his actions. Then he looked at him from the corner of his eye and considered him. He seemed almost to be deciding if it was a good idea to actually answer the question or if he should simply ignore it entirely. Then he lowered his eyes again and tucked one of his shirts away.

"I wasn't prepared for how hard this would hit me."

The smaller teen watched him closely, listening to that breathless quality in his voice and finding himself feeling almost sick. "Yeah, I didn't think you were," he admitted. Yami paused again, but did not stop for more than a second. "How long have you been here?"

The red-eyed teen cringed. "I was never with Mokuba."

Yugi nodded, reaching up and running a hand through his hair. "Yeah, I kind of figured that was what happened," he sighed. Then he kicked his legs and stretched himself out on the bed lazily. "You could have just told me. I would have come with you."

"I didn't want to make you come here. I…" He shrugged. "I would rather have dealt with it on my own and then gone back home to you."

The statement made Yugi feel slightly warm, _home to you_ making his skin tingle faintly. Then he shook his head slowly and looked to him again. "But you know it upsets me more finding out like this than it ever would have had you just come out and told me."

Yami nodded. "I know." He gripped the end of the drawer, folding his fingers more notably to sink his nails forcefully into the soft wood. His breathing was a little harder for a split second. Then he shut the drawer again and looked at him with exhausted red eyes. "I just… I didn't know how to tell you. I'm sorry."

The smaller teen watched him for a long moment. Then he sighed softly again, leaning forward to reach out and ruffle his hair. "You know, I tend to react really well to blunt statements."

Yami snorted, smiling at him faintly. Yugi worked his fingers towards the back of his skull and massaged gently there. Immediately Yami shivered, a small noise of contentment leaving him.

"If there's seriously something you need to tell me and it's important, all you have to do is say it. You know that. You've done it before."

"Yes." Yami reached up to touch his arm, slipping his fingers down to feel his pulse. Yugi shivered at the touch, eyes wide and startled, and the taller boy bit his bottom lip uncomfortably. "But I didn't want to have to…tie you down with my baggage."

The smaller boy blinked, startled, and shook his head. His fingers paused and Yami watched him with darkened eyes, a sense of fear coming across his gaze. "Yami, I'm well aware of your childhood. And what I don't know, I'm sure I can guess at. Besides, if I wasn't willing to deal with your baggage, I wouldn't have begun dating you to begin with."

Yami stared at him, his breath catching for a single moment. He wondered at his statement, mind reeling, and his hand automatically moved on its own accord. His fingers brushed the metal, making it flare with fire, and his skin almost sizzled for a split second as fear crept through him.

Was that a true statement?

He remembered all too keenly how Atem had spoken to him about the Puzzle latching to them both. He'd claimed it had nothing to do with how they felt romantically, but how was it that he could be sure? How could Atem possibly know?

Yugi lowered his eyes, startled, and froze for a split second. "That's… Why are you wearing that? I thought you normally just carried a piece or two with you?"

Yami cupped the heavy gold piece in his hand, the metal freezing beneath his fingertips. He considered him for a moment, then turned away again. "It seemed like a good idea to wear it with everything going on. It's still supposed to protect the wearer…"

Yugi remembered nightmares about Yami killing himself, hallucinating that his reflection within the mirror was that of the red-eyed teen's face. He'd seen that glitch on the computer monitor, the one which had looked so much like himself. And he'd vomited and grown so exhausted…

And all that time, Yami had been pushing at his own limits in order to be able to set the warehouse up for the fire he'd started after. Yugi had been trying desperately to ignore the way things seemed to imply something odd and perhaps supernatural…

Not that the events at the hospital had not done the same. When Yami had gone into his coma, the doctor had been convinced it could have been heavy metal poisoning and the source of it must have been the Puzzle. But when the nurses or orderlies or doctors had attempted to pull it off, it had burned them violently.

Yugi had been the only one able to touch it and not suffer such a thing. He had been the only one who did not get hurt.

"I figured if they really went after my parents then they have to know I'm here by now so…" He ran a finger over the eye in the center and Yugi swore his blood began to chill. "I mean, I might as well take as many precautions as I can regardless, right?"

"You really think it protects whoever is wearing it?"

Yami was quiet for a long moment. But when their eyes locked next Yugi could see the grim question which shone there, _Why else am I still alive_? Then he looked away again, as if unnerved, and made himself more comfortable with a cross of his legs. He narrowed his eyes and licked the fronts of his teeth to buy himself a moment. Then he turned to Yugi with a tilt of his head.

His fingers rose to tug lightly on the chains of his Puzzle, a nervous fidget. Yugi had only seen him do so once or twice, though the first time he'd witnessed it Yami had tangled his fingers painfully in the links. He'd nearly cut the circulation off entirely, startling himself and Yugi…

"You know that it's illegal here…right?" he breathed out, red eyes searching his desperately for a moment. His fingers moved faster and the clicking of the chain links as they ground against each other made him all but bristle. Yami tugged a little harder and stared at him in something almost akin a panic.

Yugi sat up a little more. "And? What's your point?" he asked after a moment, narrowing his eyes. "I know that. You know that. So we don't do anything in public and I'll just play around with you behind closed doors."

The red-eyed teen snorted out loud, chuckling and shaking his head. "Sounds like a plan," he said softly with a roll of his eyes. He considered him for a moment, then got to his feet and moved closer, almost as if he were going to straddle him when he leaned forward. Yugi was startled when the other boy leaned forward further, hands moving to grasp the comforter the smaller teen was seated on. Instinctively Yugi moved his legs, opening them for Yami to slide between, but the taller teen simply leaned a little further.

His red eyes flickered about Yugi's for a long minute. Then he leaned closer, tilting his head. He looked ready to kiss him, but faltered at the last moment, instead watching him some more. Yugi wanted to kiss him in response, but moving too soon would ruin whatever it was that Yami wished to find in him. They swapped looks for a moment longer, and then the taller teen leaned forward to press his face into his neck.

"You should get a nap. I'll come back here to see you after I visit the hospital."

Yugi blinked, narrowing his eyes, and reached up to run a hand through his hair. "You could just stay here instead. We can roll around and have fun. I promise I won't pass out on you."

Yami snorted in delight, the hot exhale making Yugi shiver. The taller teen moved a hand to grip his hip first, then weasel his hand beneath his shirt to touch his shoulder blade. He hummed and kissed his neck now, gentle and soft as he murmured, "I need to be there in case he wakes up. If I don't do that at the very least, they're going to have conspiracies about me not caring and being the one to do it."

"That's a stretch," Yugi commented. "That's a pretty big stretch, Yami."

"You forget that I grew up here. I know how they work." Yami kissed at his collarbone, hoping that he did not sound as spiteful as he felt at the moment. " _I_ am the one who went through all of the paternity tests. _I_ am the one who almost got kidnapped several times."

Yugi narrowed his eyes, massaging the nape of his neck. "My bad for wanting to not think of that constantly when I'm still jet-lagged," he drawled in annoyance. His words made Yami fall silent, tense at the statement. "Sorry. I just…"

The taller teen shook his head and Yugi thought for a moment that Yami might pull away entirely. Rather the red-eyed boy moved closer, stepping between his legs and burrowing his face into his neck more pointedly. His hand under his shirt twitched, fingers curling into his skin lightly. The small teen shivered softly as Yami kissed along the column of his neck with trembling lips.

"I have to go in a few minutes."

The tone was soft and quiet and Yugi could feel the desperation that oozed through rather than simply _hear_ it. And, finally, it felt like something the small teen could help with.

His hands moved to embrace him tightly, one resting on his hip and the other on the curve of his lower back. Yami hissed softly at the touch, somewhat surprised by the squeeze Yugi gave him moments later. The smaller teen angled his head to press a kiss to his shoulder, ignoring the way it shuddered beneath the show of affection. He hummed softly, placing a wetter, open-mouthed kiss on the juncture there.

He kissed his neck and squeezed his ass again, making Yami huff into the smaller teen's collarbone. Yugi nipped lightly, pressed another open-mouth kiss to his shoulder, and then tipped his head to the side to pepper Yami's jaw. "A few minutes, hmm?" he asked quietly. His fingers worked at Yami's ass for a moment, his other trying for the belt buckle that rested on his waist.

The taller teen laughed softly, snorting in amusement. "Took you long enough."

Yugi snorted into his neck and nipped him again before his hand weaseled the button of his jeans out of place. Yami hummed softly as he undid the zipper and began to slide his jeans and boxers down. The action made Yami narrow his eyes slightly, more surprised than upset by the idea.

"You're a little overdressed…"

"Not really." Yugi pulled away from him just enough to reach around his hip towards his entrance. The taller teen blinked curiously at the sensation, moving to open his legs a little bit for him. The smaller boy licked his lips and pressed a kiss to his neck once more. "Hold still."

Yami blinked and furrowed his brows. "Should I be concerned…?"

"Have I ever given you a reason to be?"

"Besides sticking your fist—?"

"Oh, come on, you know you loved it."

The taller boy chuckled softly. "It was enjoyable, yes." But he did not trust himself to say further. He did not know how to put into words how it was that he had become so incredibly overwhelmed. He licked his lips as Yugi breached him with a finger, the sensation making him blink and tense slightly. "Aibou…"

Yugi chuckled and pushed his finger a little further. "Trust me?" he inquired with a raised brow. Yami looked at him curiously, nodding as the smaller teen put his other hand on his hip and gently nudged him. He stepped back and Yugi licked his lips again as he smirked faintly. "Hold still."

Yami nodded. A nip to his jaw was his reward and he closed his eyes as the finger was joined with a second. He nearly squirmed at the sensation, unsure of what more to do. They'd never fooled around like this before. Normally one of them was on their back and they could settle comfortably into the pillows and mattress to regain their equilibrium.

Even when he'd gone over the side of the couch's armrest the first time Yugi had topped, he had not been standing up. The thought of Yugi pleasing him like this now surprised him more than he cared to admit. It made him slightly anxious, but he figured that the smaller teen had some kind of an idea toward what he wished to do.

A third finger entered him. Yami squirmed now. Yugi kissed his neck, mumbling once more about him staying still, and then pressed upon his prostrate while his other hand squeezed lightly on his hip with a soft bruising force. The taller teen hissed and trembled, trying not to mewl and fall back with a whimper. He did not want Yugi to lose his momentum or his inspiration.

Yugi gave him a big grin, one that reminded him immensely of the Cheshire cat. He kissed his neck, reveling in the way Yami shook but tried his hardest to keep from moving too much. He watched him, seeing the slight flush that was already forming on his cheeks, and licked his lips. "Feel free to move in a minute. I don't want you to just stay still."

He blinked, confused, but the smaller teen moved out of his sight for a split second. His fingers worked further inside of him, making Yami gasp and sputter, breath hitching when he teasingly prodded upon his prostate. He blinked, further puzzled, and then his head snapped down as Yugi engulfed him. He trembled and looked at him with a slightly startled expression.

"Yugi…"

The other boy glanced up at him from beneath his lashes, moving his mouth just far enough back to lick at the tip. "Don't thrust too hard," he mumbled, his hand on his hip moving to grab the base of his erection. His blue-violet eyes were full of laughter and darkened with lustful determination. "You don't need to stay too still now. Just don't pull my hair too hard."

Yami shivered, breathless as he realized he had not even truly noticed his hands had gathered in his hair. His eyes flickered about Yugi's, mildly concerned. The smaller teen had only given him a blowjob once before…

"I…"

The smaller teen licked his lips. "I've been thinking of doing this since before I got off the plane," he admitted, a small blush coming over his cheeks before he offered him a lopsided grin. "I figured I would do this now and it would take less time than a quickie."

Yami opened and closed his mouth, trembling once more. The fingers broached on his prostate again and a little curse fell under his breath before he could stop himself. Yugi snickered, opening his mouth more to engulf the head again. His hand in front of his lips shifted slightly and pressed gently to squeeze lightly. He swirled his tongue, ignoring the strong salty taste to greet him. His fingers touched his prostate again, though now he withdrew and thrust them. Yami whimpered, trembling, his fingers tightening their grip within his hair.

Yugi bobbed his head slightly, pushing and folding his tongue back to brush against the tip of his erection again. His hand around his base pumped slowly, and he thrust his fingers again more pointedly. Yami let out a strangled noise and the smaller teen could feel him trembling beneath his touch now. He took a moment to swirl his tongue more pointedly, stroking at the head and timing it with the thrusts of his fingers.

" _Ha_ …" He grunted and tugged lightly on his hair to keep from thrusting furiously into his mouth. The dual pleasure, though Yugi fumbled with his rhythm due to it being his first attempt, made him want to simply grip Yugi's head and thrust until he couldn't any longer. But then he thrust his fingers and he whimpered, unable to breathe beyond gasping a pathetic " _Ah_ …"

Yugi bobbed his head again, thrust his fingers, squeezed his base, and lightly scraped his teeth upon his erection in turn. Yami sputtered, tipping his head down to look at him even as he trembled and spat a curse from between his teeth, and found himself shaking with pleasure. Yugi's eyes were hooded, but there was a clear focus, determined and curious, which burned in his gaze. He was trying his hardest to find a rhythm to make Yami buckle beneath the pleasure. And he was trying his hardest not to lose momentum in any sense.

The very idea of such devotion at the moment was enough to almost make his knees buckle. But then he noticed those beautiful eyes flicker, attention diverted only minutely, and they locked on his. Yugi peered up from beneath his long lashes, thrusting his fingers, his other hand squeezing, and bobbed his head once more. His eyes were slightly glazed with affection but that sheer concentration kept him from simply dissolving into pleasure with him as he seemed to have the first time.

Yami tugged his hair lightly, gritting his teeth. His tongue wet his lips. Yugi would have grinned if he wasn't trying to stay focused, instead pulling back just enough to release a couple of inches and suck now. He'd hummed the first time he'd done this, and Yami had all but unraveled under his touch, but now he wasn't able to focus enough to keep such a thing going. And his jaw felt somewhat cramped. His eyes lowered and he thrust a little faster with his fingers, twisting his other hand to hold his shaft more comfortably. From there he narrowed his eyes, sucked a little harder until he felt his head might spin, and fondled him.

Yami spat his name, clearly overwhelmed. And, had Yugi not understood the stress and just how self-conscious the teen was at the moment, he might have been offended that he had not come yet. But now he tickled him behind the balls, other hand immersed in a new and faster, harder rhythm, and his mouth throbbed faintly with the pressure of sucking. He bobbed his head a last time, tickled a little faster, and prodded his prostrate pointedly, rubbing the pad of his finger along the small bundle of nerves.

Yami cursed, sputtered, and a noise came from him that sounded almost like a scream and whimper bleeding together. His hands clenched, his hips bucked, and he trembled terribly. Yugi nearly choked on the wave of cum to fall upon his tongue. It was salty and came in a thick current, filling his mouth for a brief moment before he managed to swallow thickly.

When he swallowed it away entirely, reaching up to wipe at his mouth with the back of his hand just to be on the safe side, his eyes were bright with triumph. He grinned at Yami wickedly, noting that the red-eyed teen's hands were still tightly knotted within the long strands. But his boyfriend was staring at him blankly, with something unreadable in his gaze which nearly shook him to his core.

The smaller teen looked away, staring at the carpet, and cleared his throat roughly. "I was going to…to try to roll my tongue in time with my fingers but I didn't think I could keep pace with both of them so I…" He shrugged awkwardly, self-conscious and horrified. It must have been a lot worse than he'd thought if Yami wasn't even willing to speak to him now… "And then I figured I hummed last time so I should try sucking this time instead and—"

Yami released his grip, sliding a hand into the nape of his hair. The other slipped beneath his chin and Yugi was startled to find that the other boy had gone about kneeling in front of him now. He hadn't even noticed he'd moved until he was kissing him and stroking at his hair in a lazy fashion.

Yami buried his face into his neck when he had to catch his breath, then mumbled, "I think I'm going to be limping."

Yugi laughed softly, nearly shaking with relief upon realizing that the red-eyed teen was not disappointed. He had the impulse to lean forward and hug him tightly, but to show such vulnerability made him feel small. And he realized now, too, that one of them had to try to be strong…

"Shit, how did you even come up with that?" He kissed his neck playfully but Yugi was well aware that it would not go any further than teasing.

"I, uh, was mostly just planning to give you the blowjob but then I figured if I couldn't completely have sex with you, then why not finger instead?" he muttered, still unable to fully raise his eyes towards him. "And then I thought that I have a second hand and I could do more with it so…"

Yami buried his face into his neck. "I love you." He nuzzled the column of his neck. "I love you so much."

Yugi trembled in relief and the other boy pulled back to look at him. They stared at one another for a long moment. And then Yami kissed him again, pulling away again only far enough to breathe out, "That was amazing."

Yugi couldn't help the smug grin that appeared on his lips. "Well good. We'll see how well it stacks up against the next couple if I think of something else to do."

Yami chuckled, then looked at him as the smile slid from his face and he searched his face. "I can try to...at some point maybe? I…"

The small teen blinked, at first confused and then flustered. "Yami, it's not about whether you can do it for me too. I know you have a lot of issues about it. It's not a big deal, I promise."

The taller teen sighed and shook his head. "But—"

"Look, just tell me my mouth is amazing at what it does and we'll call it even."

Yami snorted, unable to stop himself. Then he kissed him again and shook his head. " _You're_ amazing."

Yugi blinked, startled, and then gestured to himself. "I _am_ a Motou. We tend to be amazing in bed and in life in general."

Yami rolled his eyes and kissed his neck. "Whatever. Keep your amazing ass parked on the bed and get some rest. I'll be back in a few hours and then I can show you amazing."

* * *

Yugi was still all but fast asleep when Yami came back to the room. The door clicked softly and the lock fell back in place automatically, making a louder clanging noise. Yugi startled at that sound rather than the additional weight on his mattress. He hadn't been in a hotel room in a while and the noise was surprising enough to make him jump.

"Sorry."

He blinked and turned his head to face him, eyes wide. Yami was seated on the other end of the bed, propped up on his hands and knees. He'd clearly been about to curl up next to him atop the comforter and wait until he woke up.

Yugi yawned and stretched his arms above his head for a moment. "No, it's fine. It wasn't you." He flashed him a small smile and rolled over completely. "You okay? You look exhausted."

The taller teen hummed, stretching himself out on his stomach and propping his chin on the pillow closest him. He tilted his head, glancing at him sideways, and murmured, "There were reporters who tried to ambush me on my way into the hospital."

He tilted his head. "Did you tell them to fuck off?"

Yami chuckled. "In a much more diplomatic way, I suppose you could say."

Yugi snorted, rolling his eyes. "Oh, of course. I forgot my boyfriend doesn't curse at people in public."

The taller boy laughed loudly, a barking noise that ended in him pecking him on the cheek before lowering his head to the pillow again. "I have more class than that," he teased.

"So, you're saying I have no class?"

"I'm saying you're fundamentally lacking, so yes, I suppose you could say that."

The smaller teen rolled his eyes again and moved a little closer in order to press his nose into his temple. "You're a dork."

"I know. That's why you love me."

He grunted, then moved to sit up just enough to be able to lean over him even from beneath the sheets. He licked his lips and Yami blinked in surprise at the sudden movement. Yugi watched him closely, then searched his face. "Did you want to sleep?" he asked softly, watching him curiously. "You look exhausted."

The taller teen wished more than ever that he could have said no, that he could have convinced Yugi to crawl out from beneath the bedding and bury himself into the smaller teen. But he could do no more than open and close his mouth, first trying to find words, and then with a somewhat flustered feeling. His silence made Yugi smile, shaking his head slightly as he shifted closer and finally moved to kiss his forehead.

"Get under the covers."

Yami hesitated, but he did not need to be asked twice. He kicked his shoes off, licked his lips, and crawled under the covers with him. Yugi stretched once, then moved closer, embracing him and pulling the taller teen closer.

"I…"

Yugi looked at him curiously as the other boy shook finely. He looked more tired and maybe even mildly despaired since they had crossed paths. "What, darkness?"

Yami opened and closed his mouth twice. Then he blinked and finally moved to bury his face into his chest, whispering, "I love you."

Yugi ran his hand through the other's hair. "I love you too." Yami was still trembling for a few minutes before the exhaustion gripped him more prominently. Before Yugi could think to speak again—though he had no plans to—the taller boy had fallen into a rather deep slumber.

The smaller teen wondered at his even breathing and the relaxation that claimed him so brilliantly now. The Puzzle was still around his neck, something that must have been uncomfortable, but Yugi did not want to risk waking him by trying to take it off him. So the blue-violet-eyed boy simply watched him again, studying the way his chest rose and fell in steady breaths. He had only watched him sleep a handful of times. It was not something Yugi found romantic in any sense.

But he'd done it because of Yami's condition.

When they'd finally gotten back together after a few weeks of ignoring each other after he'd initially gotten out of the hospital, Yugi had watched him rather religiously. Yami's lungs had been so full of soot and liquid buildup that he'd rasped and wheezed at times. Other times he'd almost seemed to choke and Yugi would begin to panic just before Yami would relax again. After that first week around him again, often spending the night with him at either house, he'd been sure to stay awake and see him fall asleep. Yami would sometimes mumble his name in his sleep, oftentimes uncomfortable rather than aroused or distressed. Other times he would see that his boyfriend was gripped in an obvious nightmare from the way his brows would furrow. But he did not thrash and Yugi had only to pull him closer to calm him again.

It was only on a rare occasion that Yami would cough in his sleep, then startle awake. Yugi would pretend to still be asleep and Yami would get up to pee and cough and occasionally try his nasal spray which he absolutely loathed.

This was not the worst of it, however.

On his worst nights, Yami seemed to grow so still he was dead. And Yugi would panic and wake him. Yami would blink in confusion, calm him when Yugi seemed unable to do more than sputter in his horror, and then fall asleep again.

Yugi watched him now. Yami had his head against his chest, nestled comfortably there. And the small teen smiled faintly as he ran his fingers through Yami's hair as the other breathed evenly and did not so much as stir.

Sleeping with him in the nonsexual sense was always a good experience, no matter the stress of it that he felt at first. Yami was relaxed and innocent in his sleeping state. He looked younger and softer, like the little boy he'd known he had once been before his childhood had been shattered so painfully. And, laying here beside him, Yugi could not help but love even more the ease with which came with such action.

Before, he had been all but estranged to the idea of simply resting next to him. He'd wound up doing so after Yami had fallen asleep in the midst of conversation with him, however, after he'd shown up at his house in the middle of the night. He'd originally panicked, thinking that perhaps Yami had meant to invite him to bed in a far more sexual way than the taller teen had truly cared for that night. He had proven unreceptive to any touch he'd offered, drugged with pain medication as Yugi had insisted he take it. And then, when Yugi had been about to kiss him and try to take things further, he'd found Yami asleep beside him.

The small teen had initially thought to run for it right then and there. But he also realized it was too late to do such a thing. Japan was relatively safe, but that was not something he would risk at three in the morning. So he'd settled into the bed and turned off the lights.

And then he'd sat in the dark, debating making a run for it anyways. But then Yami had moved. And his nose had just barely brushed Yugi's wrist, startling him. And when he'd looked down, it was clear that Yami was receptive to him now. He was grateful even in his resting state and so Yugi had watched him as he'd begun to settle to sleep as well.

And, for the first time between the two of them, Yugi had felt the contentment of simply resting beside another person without physical contact. He'd only ever had sex with Yami and he'd only ever touched him intimately. But he'd never slept beside him so simply.

But he'd admitted then, as he so often did now, that sleeping next to him was somehow even better than sleeping _with_ him.

* * *

Yugi woke once more to find Yami beside him, eyes open and focused on his face. The small teen blinked, squinting slightly, and then moved to sit up halfway. "What? What's wrong?" he demanded, sitting up to look around himself with a deep breath. He expected someone to be lurking in the shadows, the darkness draped across the room now that the sun had long since set.

Yami was quiet for a moment. Then he reached out to run his fingers through Yugi's hair. The smaller boy turned immediately back to him, startled, and both of them considered one another. "I was just…" He fell silent again for a moment. Then he searched his face for a few moments, smiling faintly in something like awe. "I guess I'm still kind of shocked that you really came here."

He blinked, surprised by the statement. "You knew I would have come to help you deal with all of this regardless."

"Well, yeah, but I…" He shrugged slightly, looking away now with a small shake of his head. "I just guess it's strange to realize that I'm here…in Egypt and now so are you and…"

Yugi cast him a cheeky grin. "And now you can answer a booty call on demand again!" he teased, smirking when Yami blinked, startled, and then rolled his eyes with a grin. "It's brilliant, I think!"

The taller boy snorted louder, considering him, and then moved to kiss his temple. "You're an idiot." He paused, then settled back into the pillow. He considered him a few moments longer, kissed him lightly on the lips, and traced his fingers over his scalp for a split second. "Did you want to do anything besides sleep?"

"Well, you _did_ promise me something amazing when you got back."

Yami watched him for a moment before smirking in amusement. "Yeah? I did, didn't I?" he murmured with a tilt of his head. He licked his lips and shook his head. "Raincheck?"

Yugi rolled his eyes. "Are you chafed?"

"No?"

"Does your butt hurt?"

"No?"

The smaller teen grinned at him wickedly. "So, if I were to unzip your pants and then hop on…?" he coaxed.

Yami laughed out loud. "Sure," he chuckled. "If that's what you want to do."

"And if I were to just pull your pants down instead and maybe bury myself…?"

He gave him a crooked half-smirk. "Ah, I see. So, this is going from me being top to me being bottom. Permission for one means permission for the other, right?" he teased.

"Exactly!"

He chuckled again. "Do as you wish. Just don't expect me to be amazing."

Yugi snorted as he moved to straddle him, watching him with bright eyes. "You're like a limp fish half the time anyways," he teased in a tone that was somehow matter-of-fact as well. Yami looked at him with pursed lips, eyes amused but somehow void of laughter. "Aw, don't pout! You'll make me want to hold out because of how cute you look!"

Yami snorted loudly, eyes lighting with amusement now and lips curled into a smirk. "You couldn't hold out if your life depended on it."

"Then it's a really good thing it doesn't."

The taller teen laughed again, eyes sparkling and teeth glinting brightly for a moment. Yugi had always admired the perfect line of his teeth, the way his canines shone in the most noticeable of ways when he grinned wide enough. Sometimes when he talked, Yugi watched his mouth. Many times Yami had grown self-conscious from it, something that he noticed was far more prominent in public than when they were alone and he could feel more like himself than the Yami expected by others. But he would speak in a way that often required little movement of his lips, shielding his teeth entirely from anyone watching. It made lip reading a bit harder from a distance and it made his words somewhat unpredictable.

But when he smiled his widest, delighted or with abandon, Yugi would see the whites of his enamel. And his canines were noticeable against them all because of the way they were so often hidden away. It was something Yugi had only truly noticed when they'd become an official couple. Before then he had not thought to pay such attention.

But now he relished any moment that he could make Yami laugh or smile in such a way. It made him feel as if he were truly making Yami happy, that he'd _really_ given him a reason to laugh. And that alone was enough to make him feel warmer than ever, as if he'd done something that no one else could.

"Did you want to top?"

Yugi considered him for a moment, watching him as he licked his lips and studied him. "I don't know. I'm debating riding you like a pony or putting you in the mattress."

Yami blinked, smiling in amusement. "You're so cute whenever you raise the bar too high."

The smaller teen gave him a dry look, raising a brow. "You're such a dork." Then he smiled a little as Yami chuckled softly and looked at him through half-lidded eyes. The smaller teen licked his lips and leaned forward to press a kiss to his jaw. Yami tipped his head back slightly, allowing him room to kiss along his neck. "My dork, right?"

The red-eyed boy smirked in amusement, though his eyes had softened drastically and he looked more warm and inviting than he had before. "Always."

Yugi shivered, then kissed his cheek once more. Now he moved his head to press their mouths together a moment later. The sensation was soft and warm, pushing upon him almost forcefully enough to bruise. The noise he gained from Yami was a low moan, swallowed eagerly away by the smaller teen.

His hands found their way to Yami's sides, pressing tightly upon his skin enough to bruise in a light yellow and blue. With a more certain grip on him, Yugi rolled them over forcefully. Yami hissed when the bed creaked, the small teen moving to pin him, his weight distributed almost solely upon his elbows and forearms planted on either side of his head. It took him only a second to realize that he was pinned down, all but helpless should Yugi truly brace himself more completely upon the mattress. Oddly, shocked, Yami was both breathless and somewhat disappointed.

Yugi had not lingered to stroke along his inner thighs. He had not circled his finger or breached him with the three as he had earlier.

In turn, the smaller teen found himself mildly disappointed as well. Yami did not object or say anything to coax a reaction from him. He was simply lying beneath him, waiting…

Yugi shook it off, moving to straddle him and pulling away enough to undo his zipper. Yami blinked, watching him curiously as the smaller teen backed up along the length of his legs. With the action the other boy pulled his jeans away entirely, moving just enough to the side to drop them to the floor beside them.

For a moment Yami remained still, considering him. Then he wiggled from beneath him. The action made Yugi stop short entirely, eyes wide and confused by the new movement. Immediately, licking his lips, Yami moved to lean towards him, stretching himself up to grab at the button up material of his pajama shirt.

The buttons were tugged at lightly, the fabric soft beneath his fingers. Yami leaned forward to press a kiss to his temple, then to put his cheek against Yugi's. His fingers slid the soft plastic through, lazy and easy in his actions. A kiss was pressed to his chest where it was laid bare and the smaller teen shivered in surprised delight.

"I thought you were tired." Talking was stupid. He swore to the gods, if it weren't for the fact that his tongue was necessary for taste, he would have cut it out at a moment like this. Yami, however, did not pause from kissing at the center of his ribs.

"Yes." The word was exhaled soft against his chest, so warm and gentle there that it made him breathless. The next kiss was warmer than before, a little wet where Yami had licked his lips. "But I did say it would be amazing."

He snorted. "And I'm pretty sure I said yes to a raincheck." _Fuck talking._ But if they didn't talk, he felt Yami would feel more pressured than ever to put in an effort now to please him. He felt sick with the idea that, likely, Yami felt he had to do this more than ever as he'd given him that blowjob and fingered him prior. No doubt he felt the need to give as much as he had taken, as he had always seemed so keen upon doing.

Even the first time Yugi had given him a blowjob, Yami had asked him multiple times if he wanted to have sex with him afterwards. Despite Yugi telling him it was about Yami, the other teen had still asked a couple more times, as if he didn't feel right to not offer something back. It had stuck out pretty prominently for Yugi, even if he tried to ignore it for the most part.

"You know, it might be fun to have sex with you when you're impersonating a limp fish," he teased, though he shivered when Yami kissed his stomach. The smaller teen shivered again when the other boy laughed softly.

"So, my usual then?"

"See? I knew you'd admit to sucking in bed!"

He was laughing but it didn't sound quite as nice as it had before. "Ah, yes, I concede. I do not have the skills to please a slut."

Yugi snorted, knowing he'd crossed a line but slightly encouraged by the response. "You've slept with more people than I have. I think you're the slut in this relationship."

The answering grunt was somewhere between flustered and unhappy. Yami licked along his stomach to his chest and then tugged lightly on his shirt, pulling him slightly downward before pressing a kiss to his chest again. "That shouldn't even count. You told me to do it."

The smaller teen shivered again, but the conversation was going a direction he hated to think of. So he moved to slide his sleeve off his left arm and then his right. Yami had pulled back just enough to watch him, red eyes glittering with something like sad amusement. Yugi ignored it, tossing the shirt off the side of the bed with Yami's jeans, and went about pulling his pajama bottoms as well.

"Sorry."

Yugi paused, nearly fumbling as he wiggled out of them. "For what?"

Yami stayed quiet for a long time. Yugi glanced up after a minute had passed, expecting to see the other teen watching him. But Yami had turned away abruptly, eyes on the ground and his expression puzzled. When Yugi turned his head as well, glancing curiously in the direction his boyfriend was looking, he saw his pants vibrating.

"If they were still on you, I'd ask if you were happy to see me."

Yami blinked, startled by his voice, and then burst out laughing in surprise. He turned to Yugi with bright eyes, lips parted in the widest of grins. His canines were showing again and Yugi could feel his heart skip a beat with growing excitement.

"You're an idiot," he teased, moving to nuzzle his neck. "But I need to see who that is."

He would have told him to ignore it if he had not realized it might have been the hospital. If Yami did not answer them when his dad woke up, it could put him in a terrible light with the public. So he stayed silent as the red-eyed teen leaned over to reach for it. He had to strain his fingers for a moment or two, reaching out and searching his pockets. When he pulled it out, he snorted and tossed it back to the floor.

"Not the hospital?"

"No, it's Bakura."

Yugi blinked, tilting his head. "You aren't going to answer that?"

"Why would I?" Yami watched him for a moment. "I figure he was listening to that conversation when I called you at school…"

The smaller teen was quiet for a long minute. Then he frowned. "He doesn't know you're here." Yami blinked, surprised, but nodded regardless. "And he must have stayed up pretty late to call you."

Yami wrinkled his nose. "It's more likely he's heading for school. We're eight hours ahead or something?" He paused, flashing him something of a soft crooked grin. "You know, I almost get the feeling you don't want to sleep with me."

" _Ha_!"

The taller teen chuckled. Yugi smiled at him brightly. When he moved to lap at the skin within his collarbone, the small teen found himself biting his lip. "You're a lot thinner," he commented, shooting him a stern look. "You're wasting away."

Yami ignored this with as much grace as he could muster. But self-consciousness bit at the heels of this decision. And, when Yugi held his ribs in both hands and rubbed his thumbs over the bottom grooves, Yami noticed the smallest change in him as well. His hips were the slightest bit bigger and and his pelvic bone somehow more prominent beneath his skin.

 _From being apart_ , Yami thought, but it was in answer to Yugi's comment rather than justification for this difference in his smaller partner.

"I'll call him after," he decided out loud, surprising them both. Yugi blinked, pulling away from where he'd been about to insert a finger. Then he furrowed his brows, nodded, and lowered his mouth to kiss his neck. The taller teen closed him eyes, flexing around his fingertip and clenching peacefully upon it as if to suck him in. Yugi wondered briefly if it was the familiarity of the touch or the way that he had prepped him beforehand hours ago that made this happen. But he supposed it did not matter in all actuality.

It took only a minute for him the second finger to receive similar acceptance. And the third Yami squirmed upon clenching around. He gave him an incredibly impatient look and Yugi snorted with a small grin before moving to align himself properly. When Yugi stretched himself out above him, sinking as deeply into him as he could, Yami let out a low breath that was somewhere between a hum and a keen whimper.

Yami squirmed awkwardly, lips parting and stretching into a circular formation for a moment before he reached up to pull his shoulders lightly. He buried his face in his neck and peppered his skin for a moment or two, red eyes closed before opening when Yugi balanced himself more comfortably on his arms to look him over. The expression on his face was both surprised and somehow incredibly helpless, his eyes hungry but with a sense of mild fear.

 _I've never seen that look before,_ the smaller teen thought, startled by the sight. He couldn't stare at him without feeling winded for a long moment or two. It seemed shocking to him that perhaps the other boy were fearful of him. And then he realized that it must have been where they were rather than who Yami was with. Because he knew better than to think Yami was afraid of him.

The taller teen had never been afraid him before. And he wouldn't be now. There was no reason he might have become so either.

So Yugi forced himself to focus on something else entirely. He turned his attention to the power he could feel in the taller boy's body, the great strength that rested beneath his skin and within his muscles. He had a multitude of endurance in every tendon and sinew. And Yugi realized abruptly that _this_ had to have been why he had not been utterly destroyed upon being forced through survival camp and later the warehouse. It was how he'd survived numerous beatings as a kid, somehow safe from the scarring he should have gotten.

He moved to thrust, though only a third of the way, something that made Yami grunt in bewilderment. Yugi snickered and the other boy seemed to relax at the sound, though when he looked up the taller boy was rolling his eyes. He thrust again, this time more fully, and the harsher movement made Yami startle with a small squirm.

He didn't set a rhythm and Yami scrunched his face up as he glanced up at Yugi from beneath his long lashes. He had grown focused, concentrated and busy, and Yugi nearly laughed aloud when he realized that Yami was attempting to find some kind of way to set a pace. But the smaller teen was again enamored with the strength in his body, how his muscles looked like smooth stone and soft skin like satin. He had begun to meet each thrust as he would have otherwise, the action as easy and fluid as it always was for him. He angled his hips and wrapped his legs around his waist, arching his back with pleasure and whining low under his breath.

He did not mewl as he normally would have, instead hissing and whining, trying not to make the noise he usually did. The reality was that, like his fear formerly, Yami was trying once more to avoid gaining any sense of attention, as if someone were lurking outside their room. It was a disgusting, rather horrifying thought.

But hadn't that happened already?

Pegasus had sent people to take photos and _video_ of the two of them fucking around. They'd contacted Joey and Tristan and Tea to have the picture of the two of them kissing sent around the school. And then the abuse had started for Yami and everyone had shunned Yugi for the better part.

He had not considered the idea that someone might try similarly here. But he was thankful that he'd drawn the curtains and blinds earlier before he'd fallen asleep. And he was grateful that Yami had even come back to begin with. He'd initially feared that the taller teen would see it more beneficial to his image to stay at the hospital instead and so ignore the fact that Yugi was even there in the hotel. It was a stupid thought in retrospect, but he'd still worried.

But he was also abundantly aware that eventually Yami might be forced to choose and he did not know that he would win that. Yami would most likely playing the part of Atem, the ambassador's son, the one who came home to check on his father and _Atem_ had no reason to hold Yugi above everything else. In the public eye to even acknowledge that Yugi was there could damn well become a problem. He would not even be surprised if he was all but locked in the hotel room for his own safety.

He was not oblivious to the fact that _Yugi_ was only a name when it came down to it. And _Atem_ would be someone that he didn't truly know.

He had never even _witnessed_ the smallest degree of who _Atem_ was. He'd seen him pull the diplomatic leader persona several times when their school had been flooded with reporters due to the fact that their pictures had gone viral as they had. And then Pegasus had made their videos public, something that had devastated Yami for only a few moments rather than crippling him permanently. And if _Yami_ had that resolve of strength, who was to say that _Atem_ didn't have a completely different, more powerful one as well?

Yugi was both excited and terrified by that thought. He would see a new side of the boy beneath him. But he had no idea whether he would like him. And what if _Atem_ was so estranged to him that he could not find it in himself to remain with _Yami_?

He shivered, surprised to find that Yami was staring at him in bewilderment again. "What?" he asked immediately, surprised by the way his red eyes bore into his skin.

"I just… You didn't come…" He frowned at him, puzzled. "Were you thinking that hard?"

Yugi opened and closed his mouth. But he could feel that he'd gone flaccid as well. The reality of it was that his own thoughts had been enough to make him deflate entirely. And when he looked at Yami he found the taller teen quickly following suit. Yugi felt sick.

"I… I… It doesn't matter."

"It doesn't matter? Yugi, you've never exactly done this before…" Yami hesitated. "Did I do something?"

His heart constricted in his chest. "No, no, Yami!" he objected loudly, shaking his head. "It didn't— _Fuck_ , no, you didn't do anything at all. I just… I was thinking about something and I… Shit, I'm sorry."

"I was actually hoping you would say yes," Yami commented quietly. "At least with that, if it was something like a face I was making, then at least then I could fix it."

Yugi blinked. Then he frowned. "It's not something that needs to be fixed, Yami. It's just something I was worrying about recently. And it doesn't matter anymore."

The taller teen stayed silent for a long minute. Then he shook his head slowly. "I don't want to be a jackass about this or anything, but this is really uncomfortable."

"Huh?"

"Like… You're not in the mood anymore. I'm not really sure I am either. The bed is kind of lumpy where I'm laying. You're staring at me like I have three heads. Both of us are deflated. And I don't know how anyone could possibly want to sleep with someone inside them like this."

His awkward ramble made Yugi blink, then squint in surprise. For a moment he tried to digest the words, unsure if he was correct in what he was hearing. And then he laughed softly and shook his head. He shifted away from him, pulling out, and Yami hissed with discomfort before looking at him again.

"I'm sorry. I feel like I made Mr. Happy resent me a little there."

"Well, if he does, he'll get over it pretty quickly." He grinned and waggled his brows. "You know how he is about always looking on the bright side. He just has to poke his head up a little."

Yami chuckled, rolling his eyes and smiling. "You're a dork."

"So are you."

The taller teen snickered, moving closer to him to lay his head down on the pillow inches from his. He looked more exhausted than he had before, but also rather content. It took Yugi only a moment or two to realize why, though it made his chest feel warm even as his lungs constricted for a split second.

"Well, now that the mood is ruined, I think we should sleep instead." He hesitated, then considered the other teen for a moment. Briefly he seemed to rethink whatever was going on in his head, then shook it off abruptly. "I'll go ahead and turn my ringer back on. I need to know if he wakes up."

Yugi nodded as Yami turned away from him again to scavenge through his pants again. He pulled the phone up, turned on the volume, and set it aside on the nightstand. Then he hesitated and bit his lip.

"I hope that isn't too loud…"

Yugi rolled his eyes. "Yami, I'm not worried about it."

The other big shot him a flustered look. "Yes, but I don't want to wake you unnecessarily—"

"It'll be a test of whether I love you enough to let you live after waking me up early. How about that?"

He laughed out loud. "That sounds right."

* * *

"Hello?"

Yugi blinked and rubbed at his eyes uncomfortably, listening to Yami's soft, almost exhausted tone. He looked over his shoulder, curious, as his boyfriend kept his eyes squeezed shut. He was so quiet that it would have made Yugi wonder if he was hearing things had it been anyone else. But he'd admittedly taught himself on several occasions to catch whenever Yami was speaking. He was hyperaware of his voice, because he needed to know what the other boy was awake or mumbling during a nightmare…

"Yeah, Bakura."

There was a pause. Yami blinked his eyes open into slits. He rubbed his eyes again. He ran a hand through his hair. Then he glanced sideways toward Yugi after feeling his intense stare. The taller teen almost leaned over to kiss him but instead gave him a slight lopsided smile and turned away again.

"Yeah, I know." He paused and tilted his head, listening to his cousin for a moment. Then he closed his eyes again and tilted his head slightly towards Yugi. "Mmhmm… No, Bakura, I didn't answer the phone because…"

There was grumbling on the other end. Yugi blinked. But he couldn't make out the words. Yami's volume was far too low for him to catch the words.

"No, frankly, I was with Yugi so…" He fell quiet again for a moment. Then he began to scowl, lip curling in disgust. "Knock it off."

The warning in his tone was audible enough that Yugi stiffened. Immediately Yami turned his head towards him, surprised, and then quickly looked away again as his cousin began to talk again.

"No. That's not what I was saying." He paused for a moment. Then he snorted. "Uh, yes, actually I _was_ fucking around with him. Thanks. I appreciate the wording there."

Yugi tilted his head.

"Okay, well if you plan to _keep_ being a dick, then I'm hanging up. Thanks for the call." Yami paused for a moment, listening a few minutes longer. Then he tilted his head and grimaced slightly with a sideways glance at Yugi. "Well that wasn't a very cousinly thing to say."

The smaller teen snorted.

Yami hung up a few seconds later, eyes wide and lips pursed. "Wow. He got _pissed_." He shrugged after a moment, yawned, and then licked his lips. "And it's three in the morning. So I'm going back to—"

His phone was going off again. Yami lowered his eyes, blinking, and then his face drained of color and his breath caught for a brief moment.

"Hello?"

Yugi blinked as Yami stiffened, his mouth moving but no sound coming out for a brief moment. The smaller teen moved to sit up and abruptly, awkwardly, his boyfriend's hand came out and pressed on his abdomen as if to somehow shield him. Yugi blinked, staring at his hand, and then reached up to grip his wrist lightly.

"Yes. Thank you. I'll be right there."

When Yami finally turned his head to look at him, Yugi felt sick and dizzy. Both of them watched each other for a moment, until Yami hissed, "He's fucking awake."

 **Okay, so here is my news for updates! So far _Shadows That Bleed_ WILL remain my TOP priority. BUT _Sky Dance's_ sequel IS technically OFFICIALLY finished. I AM having a friend read it over and work with me on some of the parts (particularly the battle scenes that I have in there because I don't feel I did them half as much justice as I should have). I NEED to do a rework of part four and when that's done, we'll move to redoing its edits and then onto part five and six. Then I'll start posting it. As for when this will happen? My free time is at an all time low. I make no promises that it will happen within the last three months of this year guys. But I'm gonna TRY MY HARDEST. That aside, I'm going to be looking into updating _Shadow Me_ soon as well. Then I'll try to get a new update for _Easy_ after that. But, seeing as _Shadows That Bleed_ is as long and involved as it is, I make absolutely no promises WHATSOEVER concerning any of these things. BUT you SHOULD still be able to look forward to updates to _Easy_ and _Shadow Me_ at random intervals soon enough.**


	12. Standards

**Disclaimer: I own nothing pertaining to Yu-Gi-Oh**

 **Note: Story will be updated kind of sporadically**

 **Chapter Warnings: Mentions/Implications of Abuse, Chronic Migraines**

 **As Yugi points out, Yami mentioned in _Simple_ that he often suffered migraines when he was younger. It came from his dad suffocating him with his pillow when he was still in the crib. I've luckily never suffered a migraine, but since Yami is prone to them when he gets too stressed out, I did a lot of research to get a (somewhat) accurate presentation of them. Although Yami's are extreme, so I don't know if anyone normally suffers ones like these.**

 **This story is NOT going to have an accurate presentation of Egypt, by the way. It's going to be drastically Americanized just like Japan was, aside from a few of the smaller details.**

 **If I forgot anything else I should have put in the warnings, feel free to tell me. I've edited this chapter about five times and it's been a while since I last did it. So I could have easily forgotten something. But I've got a few things that I need to finish today and I don't want to delay updating the story so I'm going to post now rather than later.**

 **Ploy: The rape warning is for both of them, actually...**

 **Ceres: Honestly, I don't mind what people think of me to begin with. Whether it's positive or negative doesn't bother me. It was just that they kept dogging on me over it and I get tired of misconceptions like that when they don't know me, have never held a conversation with me, and there are FAR more works with MUCH WORSE than I what I put in _Simple_ to begin with. Anyways, as far as praise and all of that, I understand because I don't often offer it either. As for Yami and being tied up, I could totally see him doing it with Yugi but no one else. He'd totally demolish anyone else who might ask him to do it. As for Kaiba and Kisara, I LOVE Blueshipping. **

**As far as Japanese views on couples goes, from research for STB, I've learned that they don't actual care all that much for relationships of any kind, regardless of orientation. And considering the age of consent and everything on top of it, it's actually considerably dangerous for Yugi or Yami to be in a relationship to begin with because BOTH of them could potentially be charged with breaking the law since they're dating and they aren't 17 or 18 yet (depending on the prefecture). But, yeah, so it's fun stuff as far as that one goes.**

Chapter XII: Standards

Yugi blamed the jetlag for how slowly he was moving. He was exhausted, his body physically _aching_ after they'd gotten up. He hadn't thought of how long he'd been on those planes, nor how many times he'd fallen asleep in those cramped seats. And he really, _really_ liked not remembering the way the guy next to him had drooled all over him.

He grimaced at the thought. Then he grunted as he struggled into his jeans again. His head had begun to pound and Yami was looking pale as he monitored his phone for any news of the press getting hold of his dad's status before he got there. He was pacing anxiously at the door, constantly glancing at him and back. His breathing was even, however, and he was not shaking.

Yugi had been forced to _beg_ him to let him go with him as well. Yami had been so adamant about leaving him there in the room that he'd almost leaped up, redressed and left before Yugi could breathe a word. Then he'd halted when Yugi had sputtered his name, turning around with a confused, almost blank look. His hand had been tangled in the Puzzle's chain and his head was angled slightly lower, as if he were already readying himself to be submissive towards his abusive sperm donor.

They'd argued for a long minute. And then, abruptly, the fight had left the taller boy. He had watched him, studying, and then nodded and made a phone call. It was obvious he had gotten in contact with his bodyguards, that he was having them meet them at the doors of the hotel.

Yugi snapped his belt in place, scratched his leg, and hurried to pull his shoes on. "Do you think he remembers who did it?" he asked quietly.

Yami blinked and looked over, then slowly raised his head and turned more fully to face him. His red eyes were clearly startled, as if he did not understand any of what he had said for a moment. And then he blinked and looked at him with slightly furrowed brows.

"He nodded when the EMT asked if he knew." He paused. "But I do not think he will remember now. He's so heavily medicated. And they're going to have to do _numerous_ more surgeries for his face."

Yugi shivered and pulled his shirt over his head. "You remembered it was him when he pushed you down the stairs."

"Yeah but I didn't have an ax through my skull several times. And I'm not the one who had to have brain surgery almost three or four times now." Yami fell quiet after a moment, then sighed softly and licked his lips. "Besides that, I'm pretty sure they're expecting _me_ to tell him about my m—"

"The incubator," Yugi interrupted sharply enough to startle Yami, pulling his other shoe on and straightening his clothes slightly. He considered himself in the mirror for a moment, then shrugged as he faced the taller teen. "This will do. Let's go."

Yami hesitated for a moment. Then he allowed Yugi to step around him and out the door. The smaller teen moved only a couple of steps past him, turning back when Yami did not immediately follow. The taller teen looked at him, hesitant as his lips twitched slightly as if he were trying to smile and couldn't remember how. When he realized the attempt to do so wasn't working he turned away with a shake of his head and walked around him to take the lead.

Yugi walked immediately behind him, only a step back as they came out the building and approached the same sleek black car that they'd ridden in before. But Yugi was more awake now than he had been the day before, even if the jetlag had hit him more prominently.

The bodyguards were oddly heavier in build, though he knew immediately it was muscle rather than fat. And it was surprising to him to realize this, as he'd thought formerly that the other teen might have hired someone taller and perhaps lankier or perhaps guards with bodies that were too heavily muscled. The gods knew that movies never truly seemed to take in account how useful a body's build might be in light of their profession. It was surprising to him—though it should never have been—to realize that Yami had done that very thing instead.

These men were tall but not overly so, with broad shoulders that did well to make their frames look more solid. There was no triangular formation like a wrestler or bodybuilder, but truly a harder and straighter formation almost like a brick.

"Muscle heads," he muttered under his breath, though he startled when Yami snorted in his ear. The taller teen gestured for him to step into the car and Yugi hesitated as he glanced at him over his shoulder and reluctantly stepped inside. He scooted to the far end of the seats, towards the driver side door. And Yami hovered at the other end for a long minute and a half.

And then, as Yugi was prepared to simply look out the window uncomfortably, he startled. His head snapped around, eyes wide with bemusement. Yami hesitated where he'd been about to scoot closer. They stared at each other, unsure of the other's movements, and then Yugi offered him a small smile. He was not sure he could truly offer him the comfort he might be seeking from him, but he did think that it was not something to deny him. And so he tried to smile a little more in encouragement as Yami still failed to move. But then he did so, taking the spot beside him. When he buckled up, he remained hesitant. His fingers fiddled where they rested in his lap and he licked his lips as the smaller teen moved closer to him.

His eyes flickered immediately over in question.

Yugi didn't do more than smile again, though now it was strained with an idea of responsibilities that he did not think he might be capable of handling. He wanted to reach out and hold his hand. He wanted to kiss his cheek or his temple. He wanted to snuggle into his side. He wanted to whisper a stupid little nothing under his breath and into his ear. And yet he could not find the strength to do any of these. He could not find it in himself to be capable of such things.

And so he turned away again after a moment or so. And he didn't look to Yami again the rest of the ride. But he could see, whenever he looked into the glare of their reflection in the window, that his close proximity had done well to allow Yami to calm down. He did not fidget the rest of the time they were in the car, his eyes fixed on the driver and the other two males.

Occasionally someone would speak softly in Arabic, though not in a manner that said more than curiosity and mild bewilderment. None of them mentioned Yugi or Yami or their relationship in any manner. But they did whisper quietly about his sperm donor, more than a little surprised and curious as to what might happen later.

Yami put an end to this when he murmured, "I do not know what he might remember. I do not suspect he even knows that I am here in Egypt. I would assume he would think I'd stay in Japan."

The three men fell quiet, clearing their throats awkwardly after a handful of minutes. And then they drove in silence. Yami touched a hand to the Puzzle as they got out of the car and Yugi wondered if perhaps he might have been praying. And then he flushed as Yami glanced at him as if he could have somehow sensed his thoughts.

"Listen, stick as close as you can to me. But do not…hover, I suppose would be the best word. Do not remain so close that they might get you in a picture while they are interviewing or watching me."

"Yami, that's impossible—"

The taller teen shook his head, red eyes troubled. "I'm not Yami here, little one. I'm Atem. You'll have to call me by that in order to keep them from growing suspicious about what our relationship actually is."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean? Yami, they already…" And then he fell silent for a long minute. "So I'm going to call you Atem because Yami is considered a nickname."

The other teen nodded uncomfortably. "Yes. And as for the pictures, you will be going into the building with them before me. I will follow. Once we are inside, that's when you will be able to follow me without too much restraint."

Yugi was quiet, tipping his head slightly to the side with a sick feeling forming in his gut. "You're going to send them with me. And then you're going to follow." When Yami nodded, the smaller teen nearly snarled, voice sharp and angry. "You're fucking telling me that you're _not_ going to have protection of your own?"

Yami cringed. "I don't need protection. It would look suspicious. I got them because I knew I couldn't talk you out of coming here." He hesitated. "I'm sorry. But I can't move around with them very often if it's just me to be considered. They might find it suspicious or they'll think that I'm in need of protection because I have an idea of who might have done this to my f—"

"The _sperm donor,"_ Yugi said roughly. "He doesn't have a name and he's _not_ your dad."

Yami blinked, searching his face. He had the smallest urge to kiss him. And another part of him wanted to simply melt into him and attempt to hide away from the world outside which harbored so many threats. Yet he drew in a deep breath, shook his head and rolled his eyes at himself, and turned back to him with warm eyes.

"Right. My sperm donor. Not a parent of mine." He hesitated. "I, um… You know… That I meant what I said, right? I _do_ love you more than anything. And I don't want you to get hurt—"

Yugi shook his head. "I know that. Just like I know where you're going with this."

Yami didn't doubt he knew exactly what it was he was about to say. But the words still rushed out regardless. "But I can't be Yami. I have to be _Atem._ I have to be the person that the public expects. If not, things could go very wrong very quickly."

Yugi nodded. "I know."

Yami hesitated once more. "And do not speak to me in Arabic."

The smaller teen startled. "Huh?"

"Do not speak in Arabic _at all,_ Yugi. I do not want someone to paint the picture that perhaps I am teaching you my language. You've never spoken Arabic on television before so none of them should ever assume that you can understand it. It also makes you seem like a foreigner with no idea what is going on around him. It makes you more vulnerable to slander which means they're more likely to slip up and say something around you that they might not otherwise."

He tilted his head. So _this_ was the political figure, the survivalist that his dad had groomed him into. He was willing to take a gamble and put all of his cards on the table in plain sight. But he would have a trick of some other kind, Yugi was sure. Because simply listening to others gossiping and things of that nature would hardly do them any good.

"You speak English, right?"

Yugi blinked. "Yeah, pretty fluently. Probably better than I speak Arabic honestly."

"Most people here don't know how to speak it." He swallowed hard and cleared his throat. "I… I do not want to have to put you in any predicament where something might go wrong. But I would like to ask you to do a favor for me in some manner. If you are able to, if you should hear something suspicious or anything that might be questionable in any sense and we are out in public… Will you say something in English? Something random and basically nonsensical? In case someone truly does understand it…"

The smaller teen tilted his head a fraction further. "I guess so, sure." Yami stared at him for what felt a lifetime, tilting his head in response, and the realization that he needed more of a commitment came to Yugi in a flash. He hesitated, then sighed softly. "I'll do it. You know I'll do it for you. Don't look at me like that."

The other boy blinked, nodding slightly, and turned away as if the words burned him. "I know. I just…" He hesitated, then shook his head. "Never mind. Just stay with them and stay _safe,_ okay?"

Yugi watched him with an expression that Yami was almost too afraid to read. His stomach churned as the two of them looked at each other and finally the taller teen turned away abruptly. He gestured at one of the bodyguards, a single twitch of his finger almost as if he were telling them to come closer.

And then they seemed to encircle Yugi for a moment. It was almost surreal, like a scene from a movie in which they were working to guard a mob boss or something of that nature. But the small teen was surprised when they began to move, none of them touching him but their presence alone encouraging him to walk with them.

Yugi could hear some of the reporters talking in low voices. None of them had seen him but all of them were curious. Yami was still lingering by the car. They could see him. They were bewildered by his being there when his entourage was not.

He tried to glance back but Yami was lost from his sight. Yugi had a sick feeling in his gut due to this, wondering if perhaps something might happen that the red-eyed boy wasn't planning for. The immediate thought was they were going to beat him half to death and leave him there to die. And the thought almost made him try to scramble away from them.

But they weren't crazy enough to do that in a hospital, right? There was video surveillance. They would be caught before they even blinked. Someone would notice. Someone would try to stop it.

…Right?

He didn't know in all honesty. Considering his relationship with Yami was illegal, they might just sit and watch it happen rather gleefully…

"Atem!" a reporter screeched. He glanced over, alarmed that they might have spotted him. And then he saw the direction they had gone running. It was behind him as Yami had begun moving towards the building. When the doors shut behind him, Yugi felt small and overwhelmed for the briefest of moments.

The last handful of times he'd gone into a hospital, it had been to check on Yami. The taller teen had been comatose for a few days, heart and lungs and brain waves all regular but the boy simply refusing to wake himself. And Yugi had stayed at his side the entire time, even when he'd woken and his confession about loving him was simply pushed aside with the idea he was saying it out of pity.

The walls were entirely white, like an immense block of ice. The entire area seemed colder than he cared to admit and the three men that surrounded him made Yugi bristle. They began to lead him slowly down the hallway and towards the staircases. And then he could hear the doors opening again and the reporters shouting questions. Yami had obviously failed to respond because, as Yugi looked over the railing of the stairs, the red-eyed teen was simply striding into the room without a second glance.

One of the nurses said something and Yami nodded at her but did not truly look over. Instead he began to move past her without a comment and swiftly made his way towards the staircase Yugi was still on. The small teen blinked and considered the way Yami was walking towards them. There was no sense of fear in him in the slightest.

And he did not seem nearly as exhausted as he had when they'd left the hotel. It was clear now, eyes burning into his now as he noticed that they were at a standstill, that Yami had fully embraced whatever charade it was that Atem the Egyptian ambassador's son represented. But, as he looked at Yugi, there was something that seemed to fray if only for the briefest second before he turned away again.

Yami trotted past them, taking on the task of leading them forward. He led them down two halls, along another set of stairs, and to a room on the third floor. From there the taller teen hesitated only once, then snorted and strode forward without a second look.

The room he entered after a moment of walking was one of nothing more than a bed, monitoring equipment, a TV, a lamp, a phone and a couple of chairs. When Yugi entered the room, he wondered if Yami had felt so incredibly small and claustrophobic upon waking in his hospital room. It had to have been incredibly lonely upon realizing that he was in that room without any little gifts to be found. Normally someone supplied flowers or candy or something of that nature, right?

Yugi felt sick.

"Hello, father," Yami murmured in a steady tone, pacing into the corner of the room nearest the window. It was a strange, almost manipulative power play, Yugi realized. If he was near the window, it said that he was comfortable being within the room and that his dad had no power to intimidate him.

It was stunning to realize this.

There was a low grunt from the man on the bed. The red-eyed teen stared at him almost blankly, leaning back and putting his hands on the windowsill.

"I don't suppose you remember how to use your mouth and form words?" he scoffed. "Although, considering you once said you know who had done this after taking that much damage to the head, I don't think you might have forgotten in the least. Talking is what you've always been good at, after all."

Yugi shivered, unsure of what more he might do. The man on the bed was blinking a single eye up at Yami. And the other was covered in bandages. The small teen was sure that they would replace it with a glass one. He couldn't imagine for even a moment that someone as disgusting and vain as to potentially destroy his son over a public image might ever be okay with the realization that he was losing an eye.

He shook his head. The movement made that single eye, too dilated to see the iris, looked towards him slowly. For a moment he clearly did not remember Yugi in the slightest. And then his eye grew wide and what remained visible of his face beneath the bandages twisted into something almost like disgust.

It only lasted a second, however.

Yami had moved abruptly.

And he had come to stand near his father, face lowered towards his ear. Yugi could not hear what he said but the way the ambassador reacted was enough to tell him that Yami had just threatened him in some manner.

And he could see the way his heart seemed to skip beats before slowly regaining its tempo, the heart monitor showing it rather clearly. Yugi blinked and moved to press back into the wall slightly, eyes flickering to his boyfriend again. Yami was staring at his dad, lingering so close to his ear a moment too long, and then he withdrew slowly but surely and watched him with dark eyes.

"Now that you're paying attention again, let's get to it, shall we?" Yami continued without missing a beat. He smirked as Yugi blinked in surprise and looked at the two of them with somewhat wide eyes. The red-eyed teen tilted his head and tapped his nails on the windowsill when he leaned against it again. "You said that you remembered who did this before. Someone asked you if you did and you nodded. Do you still remember who it was?"

His father blinked stupidly as if he had been struck by something. Then he slowly shook his head, as if bewildered by the very concept of this idea. He looked incredibly lost and confused as his son stared back at him silently. Yugi wondered if the look in Yami's eyes was cold or suspicious but he could not read them from the angle Yami had turned his head.

"Okay," the red-eyed teen answered finally. "Well, here's some news for you then. When you are released from the hospital, they're still likely going to be going over the crime scene. So I'm thinking that I'll rent you a room at a hotel nearby or perhaps you can stay here and Yugi and I will keep our hotel room. Then, after that, we'll simply see about when you can be moved back into the house."

Yugi noticed the cold tone that came upon the last two words. Yami was clearly unhappy with the very idea of having to go anywhere near the building in the first place.

"Your…mother…"

Yami blinked, surprised. Then he wrinkled his nose and curled his lip with a shake of his head. "She didn't make it," he answered, voice calm and steady.

There was no emotional burden to be found within the words and Yugi was almost dizzy with the realization. He'd been so broken when he'd initially been disowned and yet now he was strong enough to stand there and announce the death of his own incubator without a second thought. It was amazing and somewhat horrifying.

The ambassador of Egypt blinked once. Then he slowly nodded. He turned away from his son and stared blankly at the white sheets he lay beneath.

Yami straightened to his full height. "I have no idea how soon they plan to release you. And I don't know how soon we'll be able to move you back into the house." Yugi could see a million gears turning in his head now, the way they darkened his gaze and grew cloudy with something he could not read. "I do not imagine it will be too terribly soon. You'll need physical therapy before you'll be able to leave here, I'm sure. And then I'll have to hire someone to help you at the house. The physical therapist will be a must at the very least."

"Do not bother."

Yugi startled. His head snapped up and his eyes grew wider than ever. Yami blinked and slowly turned his head towards the figure on the bed more pointedly.

"Excuse me?"

"It is not worth it."

Yami narrowed his eyes. "You didn't love your wife so much that you'd want to die because she's not here anymore," he responded in a lower, almost rumbling tone. "You and I are both well aware of that fact. Now what are you saying no about? If you expect for even one moment that I came back to this gods forsaken shithole just so that you could turn your nose up when I offered help you have another thing coming."

His father shot him a furious look through his remaining eye. "You are not my superior."

His son scoffed loudly. "No, I most certainly am not," he agreed. "But I _am_ the reason you're alive right now. And you're going to repay me by not doing such a pathetic thing as simply lying there and wasting away. Understand?"

Yugi bristled slightly. "Y—Atem…"

The red eyes blinked and his boyfriend turned to him in confusion, at first peering at him as if he did not know how he could possibly be there. Then he blinked again and tilted his head in question.

Yugi felt his cheeks grow flushed. Even the guards, who had previously been pretending not to pay attention to them, were now staring at him as well. He ran a hand through his hair, making his voice softer when he muttered, "Maybe we should leave him alone for right now. You _did_ just tell him about his wife…"

The taller teen blinked. Then his eyes flickered back to the man on the bed. It took a long moment for him to finally turn away and face Yugi completely again. "I suppose you're right," he said reluctantly. Yugi was winded when he saw the look of near bloodlust in his eyes, as if he'd been prepared to break his father more than simply speak.

And Yugi would have supported him at any time other than then. There was just something about the way he'd spoken to him, the way he stared at him, and the way the room seemed almost suffocating and small around them, that made him turn away from such an idea now.

"Atem."

Yami turned his head. But it was not his father who had spoken. And his eyes flickered towards the corner of the room. The ghost was standing there, head tilted as he leaned towards the ambassador, lips curled back to show his teeth and nose wrinkled. He looked like a snarling dog but more with disgust than anger. And when he turned back to Yami, he looked disdainful rather than upset.

"Do all hospital patients smell this _bad?"_

He forced himself to suppress his smirk. Then he looked back at the man in the bed. "I will return in a few hours. Rest until then. I'll tell the nurses you're coherent. Expect the police to come by within a couple of hours. I'm sure they will want a statement and things of that nature."

"He looks like a rat under all of this _…stuff,"_ the pharoah continued curiously. He tilted his head and his purple-flecked eyes flickered over to Yami. "Is this normal?"

Yami nodded the smallest fraction. The movement was so minute that, had Yugi not been looking at him, he would have missed it entirely. And it was enough to _enrage_ him seeing the red-eyed boy nodding at his sperm donor like that. It was infuriating to see it and he wanted nothing more than to scream at him for a moment or two.

"Wow." Atem turned away, staring at the man on the bed again. Then he wrinkled his nose and tilted his head. "He looks like he's about to go through the mummification process! I'm half-expecting Anubis to tell me he's coming to collect. Wow."

Yami tried not to snicker. Then he cleared his throat and turned to Yugi. "You ready to get out of here?" he muttered softly.

The glare he was shot startled him. "Yeah," Yugi answered stiffly. "I'm ready. Let's go."

Atem looked over at the sharp response and raised a brow. "Why is he so cranky? Did you not perform well enough for him?" he commented wryly. Yami's entire face turned bright red at the remark. "I do not know that I've ever seen him so irate with you, even when you tried to deny his saying he loved you when you first woke at the hospital."

The red-eyed boy barely resisted the urge to turn on him angrily now. But to do that would be to acknowledge him some more and that was not something he cared to do. With others in the room, it was one of the worst ideas he could ever have come up with.

So he simply strode for the door.

"Atem."

Yami halted, startled. For a moment he didn't recognize the name to be his own. And he feared that somehow someone had noticed the spirit that was poking at his father's medical equipment with a wondrous expression just as he had Yami's own at one point when he was incredibly high off the drugs they'd supplied him. The nurses had thought it was cute that he was talking to someone in the room who wasn't there…

Then he blinked and turned his head.

His father was staring at him with that one good eye.

"Why are you here?"

Yami stared at him for a moment. "I'm not responsible for you. Your physical therapist will be when you're released. As far as I'm concerned, I'm going to have to pick up some of the damn pieces that you've so stupidly scattered around and then I'll have to deal with the bullshit media and the things regarding it soon enough. Until you're walking on your own, you are not to breathe a goddamned _word_ to anyone but the police or myself."

Atem was looking at him with darkened eyes now. He did not seem unhappy with his statement but he did seem rather miserable with the very idea of what Yami was facing in the first place.

"You will not speak to Yugi. You will not acknowledge him. If I so much as see you glance in his direction again at any point—"

"Atem," Yugi hissed. His hand had found Yami's sleeve and was lightly pulling on his upper arm. "It's okay. It's not a big deal. Let's just go, okay?"

Yami hesitated for a long time, eyes flickering back and forth between his father and then Yugi. He nodded after a moment or two and then headed for the door again. The smaller teen followed him immediately out into the hall, their guards behind him.

"That was intense," Yami heard in his ear. He blinked and looked sideways in his peripheral. Atem was a couple of steps away, walking lazily beside him with a tilt of his head. He didn't seem any more troubled than he had before and the red-eyed teen felt incredibly calm at the realization. "You handled it well."

He didn't think so, truthfully. His stomach was still in knots and he felt almost dizzy. He swallowed hard, tongue feeling as if it were pasted to the roof of his mouth. Yami suppressed a shiver as he continued walking.

"Atem…"

He took a moment to realize that it was not his own voice mumbling to the pharaoh. And then he flushed, turning immediately to Yugi with reddened cheeks and collapsing lungs. It was overwhelming to him to consider that the realization that he had almost forgotten about his own rule about his name. _Yami is a nickname. Atem is my name here_. He needed to remember that. He couldn't afford to slip up in public by not responding to his own name…

He wanted to pull on his shirt for a brief moment. But he forced himself to pause, then to look more pointedly at his boyfriend. If he could ignore the urge to show weakness, then he could get through this entire thing without further incident. As long as his bodyguards did not truly turn around and say something to his father at some point…

He drew in a deep breath, then furrowed his brows a small bit. "You got taller," he murmured before he could stop himself. He almost knocked the heel of his hand into his forehead, feeling more flushed than ever. Yugi blinked at him stupidly and then frowned the smallest degree, tipping his head a tiny fraction to the side. "Sorry. I…got distracted."

Yugi shook his head slightly. "Doesn't matter."

But Yami swore his voice sounded somehow far away and yet too close all at once. A small pinprick cut through his temple and he nearly snarled with distress. His stomach churned and his heart lurched within his chest.

He swore the lights burned his eyes for the smallest of moments. He shook his head. Yugi was still watching him, but something in his expression had changed rather abruptly. He narrowed his eyes the smallest fraction.

"You didn't need to do that."

"He had no right."

Yugi huffed softly, opening and closing his mouth twice. Then he rolled his eyes. "While we're here and we're playing by the rules of not being together and all that, isn't it his right to tell me what he thinks about? It's not important if he tells you that I'm a piece of shit or anything like it." He shook his head. "You know that, don't you?"

Yami fell silent for a moment, then ground his teeth together. "He had absolutely no right. I don't care where we are. I don't care who we're around. He had no right to look at you and he has no right to speak to you, either."

"And you're overreacting for no reason." Yugi seemed to hesitate a moment longer. Then he shook his head, running a hand through his hair seconds later. "When he recovers and can talk more, just let him, okay? Let him say whatever he wants to me. It won't matter. He doesn't have any power over me. And right now, considering we're in Egypt, where we're breaking the laws, it would be _best_ to let him do whatever he wants, okay?"

"I shouldn't have to sacrifice your security—or mine—for the sake of hiding in plain sight like this."

"No, but it's _necessary._ You want to know what's going on and who did this? How long do you expect to stay here if that's how you plan to react? We can't stay here if we're making it so obvious… "

Yami opened his mouth, then stopped short. There was a movement to his left as he continued through the hall. The white walls made him want to vomit for a moment. He couldn't stop thinking of the damn moment he'd woken to Yugi in the hospital room. He could not stop thinking of their discussion, how Yugi had told him he'd come to find him as a distraction but had become concerned when Yami had failed to answer the phone.

He shivered. And his eyes flickered briefly towards his boyfriend. Yugi was staring straight ahead, eyes sharp and cold. He looked more annoyed than anything. But Yami could see he was looking towards the doors and seemed to be eyeing the reporters beyond them.

But Yami could hardly pay them attention any longer. The movement from the corner of his eye was more pronounced now. It was a person, he realized, though for a moment he still did not look.

She was dressed in white, the top of her hair covered and wrapped. But Yami got a glimpse of soft white strands shaded a bewildering tint that looked almost baby blue. He stopped short, slowing in his steps, and bristled as he turned towards her. She was holding a medical chart in her hands, her fingers long and her nails perfectly done and shiny with a deep blue polish. She held a single red pen in her right hand and she seemed to be writing on the paper there in front of her.

But something about her nagged at Yami's attention and it made his head spin for a moment. In front of him Yugi had come to a stop and had turned around to see what he was doing. He looked concerned and more than slightly confused but Yami ignored him for the moment.

The girl turned her head as she finished writing whatever information she'd needed. And then she stopped short. Her eyes were sharper than his, more angular at the edges, but her lashes were pale and almost the same shade of white as her hair appeared to be. She straightened as they locked eyes and Yami felt his knees nearly buckle as he recognized her.

"Kisara?" he sputtered, eyes wide. Her blue eyes stretched wide in turn and she looked almost as if she might smile and speak had it not been for the sound of Yugi's approach. Yami watched her head turn and he found himself looking at him as well.

Yugi looked almost fearful and he knew immediately that the smaller teen had heard him. He had recognized the name as well. Yami felt breathless and cold for a moment. The smaller teen looked inside the room and the girl made no move to hide herself. Instead she looked between the two of them, eyes stretching wide, and then quickly glanced away.

Kisara was there…?

Why?

She shouldn't have been in Egypt any longer. The last he knew of it, her family had been planning to move on, to travel elsewhere. It made no sense that she had remained if they were gone.

But it made no sense that they should have stayed either…

Yami was dizzy as he turned to Yugi and quickly grabbed his wrist, leading him away from the room. Yugi stared back behind him for a moment and Yami hurriedly pulled him along.

"Kisara…as in your former fiancée?" he asked softly, confused and alarmed.

Yami bristled at the words. "We never got anywhere near that point. My dad just wanted to marry me into money so he chose her when we were younger." He shook his head and turned to look at him over his shoulder. "We were never going to get married in the first place. We weren't compatible."

Yugi watched him for a moment, then seemed abruptly to sink his weight into his legs and stop him short. "But you were compatible enough to sleep with Mai. Did you never consider doing that with Kisara?"

It was spiteful and cruel but he could not stop himself from asking. And it made his skin crawl as Yami blinked wide, horrified eyes and scowled immediately after.

"No, we never got to that point," he bit out. "And I never wanted to be with Kisara. She's a wonderful friend and I care for her dearly but she's not someone I love more than that. I love _you,_ Yugi. There's no reason for you to be paranoid about this."

"So why is she here?"

"I don't know." Yami blinked and shook his head slowly, looking sick. "I didn't have any idea she would be here to begin with. I never even knew she was still in Egypt."

"Why wouldn't she have stayed here?" Yugi asked rather slowly, almost scathingly. "I mean, why would she leave?"

"It's…not my story to tell you. But let's just say that she's…not a nurse by profession, Yugi." He hesitated and then glanced towards the room again. "I don't even know how she did this."

"Did what?"

Yami was quiet for a moment, studying him for a few seconds. And then he hesitantly reached over to grab his hand and squeeze his fingers. "It doesn't matter. I'll explain another day."

* * *

Despite the assurance that she had been nothing but a friend and the girl that his father had chosen, Yugi could not shake the fear which crept through him. Kisara was in Egypt. She knew Yami was there. Yami knew _she_ was there.

What if they had separated _before_ there was the potential for something to grow between them? What if they managed to rekindle whatever potential they might have had before they'd done so? What if it was more to her and she was the one who persuaded Yami to see that?

After all, Yami had persuaded Yugi to fall in love with him, even if it had been rather by accident than anything else. He'd announced himself to be a rather promiscuous person before he'd had sex with Yami but the truth of it had been otherwise. Yami was the only one he'd been with the entire time and he'd been rather unable to hook up with anyone else because he had been caught up on him before he'd been willing to admit it. Yami had told him he'd loved him several times and Yugi had scoffed more than once, though he'd gotten drunk just in order to tell him. Regardless, as messy as their relationship truly _was,_ Yugi had found himself floored and all but dizzy with the realization that he had fallen for him. Perhaps it was not persuasion in truth but Yami had definitely made it feel safer to him to trust his feelings for him to be something more than infatuation.

Yugi licked his lips as he scrolled through his phone for a moment. He wondered if he was being paranoid or if it was possible. And he could not help but notice that Yami had taken the other bed as if he were uncomfortable to be around him any longer. But he also realized as well that it was more likely he was trying to be considerate towards _him_ in that he'd taken the other bed…

"Y—hey, Atem?"

There was a long pause before the red-eyed teen reacted. He came out of the bathroom with a toothbrush in his mouth and blinked at him with a rather confused expression. "What's up?" he grumbled around his brush, but Yugi nearly grimaced when he saw the paste oozing over his mouth and down his chin. He wiped at it and Yami awkwardly did the same, cheeks dusted red before he turned on his heel and wandered to the sink. Yugi heard him finish up before he returned to the doorway and looked him over with a raised brow. "Little one?"

Yugi offered him a strained smile at his use of the nickname but he wondered at the thought for a few moments. Then, finally, he tilted his head and struggled to think of a way to phrase his question properly.

"Uh, you said that you cared for her dearly."

The words made Yami blink and straighten from where he'd been partially leaning against the doorway. He stood with his chin tipped slightly higher and his arms crossed, eyes wide and confused with the direction of the conversation.

"Right. I said that I cared about her dearly."

"Uh… How far does that extend exactly?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean… I…" Yugi fell silent for a long moment. Then he moved to press his legs together in front of him, hands in his lap. "Never mind. Ignore it. It was stupid of me to even start to ask about this."

"If you're worried about something, I want you to voice your concerns." Yugi looked up when he heard the carpet being treaded on. Yami was a couple of feet away from him, moving to take a seat beside him. But he was not close enough to reach out and touch him and Yugi had the abrupt thought that either he was afraid of upsetting him by moving too close to him too soon or he was simply unsure of how to approach him any closer…

"I don't want you to sit on anything if you're unsure about it." Yami mirrored his body language for a moment, a technique that Yugi recognized throughout various conversations with him. He'd sometimes unconsciously mirror him, as if he were trying to make Yugi feel more open to him without encroaching too heavily. But he also did not know if it was simply because Yami was nervous about conversing with him or if it was to mentally make him feel more comfortable with it all. "I'll answer any questions you have."

Yugi was quiet for a long handful of minutes. He kicked his legs and was only mildly surprised to see that Yami did not do the same. But Yami had never quite been one to mimic so extremely. He often took his seated position. But if Yugi did more than that he did not usually do much else. Now Yugi wondered if he thought that was overkill or if perhaps he simply felt embarrassed thinking about it.

But he couldn't find it in himself to continue in the direction he'd started. So he drew in a breath and mumbled, "What do you plan to do about your sperm donor?"

Yami eyed him silently for a few heartbeats. Then he seemed to abandon his initial reluctance and slouched forward the smallest degree. "I don't know truly what I plan to do with him. I'm assuming that when the house is rendered habitable again we'll be able to move in there. As I'm sure he'll refuse to live elsewhere."

"He's a fucking idiot if he wants to live there again," he said sharply. "Why the hell would he want to go back after what happened? What about you? Where do you want to go?"

"Truthfully?" Yami muttered. "Back to Japan with you."

Yugi blinked. "I'm sensing a but."

"Yes, a big one." He fell quiet for a moment. "It's not something you're going to be very happy with either, Yugi."

"You want to stay here with him."

"No." Yami shook his head sharply, narrowing his eyes and lowering his voice into something of a sneer. "I do not _want_ to stay here with _him._ I want to go _home_ with _you._ But I _have_ to stay here for now."

"And you'll go back into that house."

Yami was quiet for a long moment. And then he leaned forward. For a second Yugi expected him to kiss him, but instead the taller teen buried his face in his neck. His breaths were soft, almost ticklish, and Yugi nearly melted at the feeling. He licked his lips and Yami buried his nose into his collarbone.

"Yes. I will be returning to the house."

"Why? There's nothing there for you." Yugi could say that with certainty. Yami had said that miserable things happened there. His dad had beaten him, had killed his rabbit and tried to feed it to him. He had made Yami miserable beyond belief. And Yugi could not believe for even a moment that there was anything left for Yami to enjoy within those walls. Not only were the nightmares of his childhood there, but now his mother's death haunted it as well. "I promise you, Y—Atem, there's nothing there for you. You know that."

"I do. I agree with you. The problem is that I know I need to do this. I have something that I need to do there and I can't do it if we run off to Japan again."

"Why not? Is it something legal? Is it some kind of legality here in Egypt? Is that what this is about?"

Yami blinked and Yugi nearly trembled at the soft brush of his long lashes against his skin. He clenched his fingers and licked his lips. He wanted nothing more than to maybe swoop down and capture his mouth with his now. It was or mouthing his collarbone, maybe nipping his neck instead…

"No, little game, it's not to do with the laws here. It has nothing to do with anything legal." But he fell silent after a few long seconds. Then Yugi could feel his lips moving at his collarbone, brushing against it and then latching for a brief moment. He kissed and licked for a moment and Yugi was abruptly struck with the realization that Yami was scared. "But I need to stay here, little one. Just for a little while."

"How long are we staying here?"

Yami was quiet for a moment. "You are free to leave whenever you would like, Yugi. And I don't know how long I might need to be here."

"I'm not leaving you here alone."

"Then I'm not sure how long we'll be here."

Yugi hesitated for a moment. Then he moved to reach his left hand out to touch his hip gently. Yami seemed to tremble, though Yugi knew it was not with fear but rather surprise. He stroked at his skin from where he managed to wiggle his thumb beneath the fabric of his shirt. And then he hesitantly reached at the other hip with his free hand.

Yami let out a confused noise, not quite coherent but not gibberish either. He seemed tired but somehow wide awake all at once. Yugi licked his lips and nudged his hip gently, moving to pull him forward to settle on his lap. It was an awkward shuffling movement as Yami had to let him lift him from the hip and beneath his thigh. And then he'd squirmed for a brief split second, confused when he'd moved to grab at his shoulders and pulled his head away to look at him curiously.

Yami had settled back again only when he was firmly seated there. But his face was awkward, eyes wide and brows furrowed and his lips were pulled back into a slight grimace. He did not seem upset. He actually appeared more bewildered than anything. But Yugi wondered if he was uncomfortable. He didn't think he'd ever held him in his lap before like this. Nor did he think he himself had ever sat in his.

They were quiet for a moment. Yugi moved his left hand from his hip to run his fingers through his hair. His right remained on his hip, thumb stroking gently as he held him in place so he would not slip.

"Can you tell me more about why you have to stay here?"

"Why?" Yami echoed softly. He buried his face into his neck again, eyes closed and lashes twitching against his skin. "Not really."

Because telling him meant explaining that the Puzzle was actually full of magic. Telling him meant that he had to explain Atem to him. Telling him meant he had to give him every last detail of it all. And he didn't have the heart to tell him that perhaps their relationship was nothing more than a pawn for the Puzzle. Or that he was afraid of their relationship being something that Yugi could walk away from and he himself would never be able to.

He didn't want to try to explain. He didn't want to try to tell him about the potential casualty that was the prediction Ishizu had made formerly.

So Yami stayed silent for a while.

He had nothing more he could do about it.

He could not try to explain if he was not willing to divulge it all. It was not fair to ask Yugi to understand when he was unwilling to give him more details than the bare minimum...

The smaller teen was moving, however, shifting his weight beneath him awkwardly. Yami wondered if his holding him like he was an uncomfortable sensation and so pulled away slightly to let him have more room. He shifted his weight and changed the position enough that his knees were almost on Yugi's, unsure of the way he should sit beyond this. It took him only a moment for the smaller teen to look at him with a more studious expression, somewhere between confused and slightly…

Yami felt his heart clench. Seeing Kisara at the hospital and his reluctance to answer his questions had clearly caused a rift to form between them. Yugi was not even trying to hide his suspicions of him at the moment.

But then the smaller teen seemed to read whatever it was that had crossed Yami's face, pain or remorse or frustration or whatever it was. Maybe he looked as numb and uncertain as he fell. Whatever it was Yugi read seemed to startle him enough to clear his own expression and lean forward. Yami had expected him to go for his mouth, but lips ghosted over his neck and his breath came in the softest touch of heat. Yami tipped his head up to give him more access but his stomach was tossing as Yugi traced his pulse point and nipped lightly at his skin there.

He did not know what Yugi wanted from him, whether he'd thought to seduce him in order to apologize or because he had wanted to regardless. For all he knew it could have been about assuring himself that Kisara wasn't a threat. But he didn't want to encourage it and it was not as if he were going to fight him if Yugi truly wanted to. He'd let him do it. Yami wasn't willing to fight him and risk further damage. And it was not as if he couldn't use the distraction himself. But the thought made him feel almost ill for a brief second and he wondered if Yugi could sense it.

Because he hadn't meant to, but he had tensed up. And Yugi had paused where he was kissing at his jaw. For a moment the smaller teen didn't move in the slightest. His lips remained there and Yami could feel his breaths, soft and gossamer, against his skin. It made him almost shiver but he wondered if it was more a quake than something as delicate.

After a moment Yugi pulled away, giving him a small smile that seemed oddly tight and uncomfortable, and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Finish getting ready for bed, okay?" he murmured. Yami blinked at him, wondering at the tired and guarded expression that crossed his eyes.

"Sleep with me?" Yami invited after a moment of silence. It was awkward to ask, but his stomach was in knots and he felt as if he might vomit for a split second if he did not at least try. That rift was there, more apparent than ever before, and it made him want to crawl into a hole. Few things made him so nervous and insecure and yet he felt flayed, scrutinized as if Yugi could peer into his soul and did not quite seem to be enjoying it.

Yugi was quiet for a moment. Then he leaned forward to nuzzle his temple. And Yami swore he had never felt colder in his life than when Yugi exhaled against his skin and murmured, "Sure."

* * *

Yugi was still fast asleep beside him when he picked up his laptop and balanced it across his lap. The light of it burned his eyes. They'd been laying in darkness for several hours already and he was not sure what he was meant to do with the sudden addition as it was. He was squinting when he typed the password in, eyes burning and tongue glued to the roof of his mouth for a long moment. Yugi remained asleep beside him and Yami pulled the search engine up, squinting harder at the white background.

Spots appeared in his eyes for a moment and he struggled against it as the inverted image appeared behind his eyelids. Yami reached up and rubbed at them harshly for a moment, fighting the urge to hiss under his breath. The throbbing in the back of his skull did not lessen in the slightest.

And he felt almost dizzy for a split second as his stomach knotted and his heart felt tight in his chest. Yami reached up to knot his fingers through his hair and drew in a deep breath. His lungs were wheezing as the seconds passed and he narrowed his eyes into slits. His throat felt abruptly tight and his mouth was growing steadily sour.

Yugi was bunched up in a ball at his side, in the fetal position with his head against his hip. Yami wondered briefly if he might find him wide awake due to the new light. He turned the brightness as low as it would go but he swore that he thought it as brilliant as the sun.

He pressed the heel of his palms into his eyes again, flustered and annoyed. And he swore his stomach knotted and rolled painfully for a moment. There was a harsh burning in his belly after a second, and his heart constricted in his chest more harshly than ever before.

He had not suffered through one in years, but he recognized it all the same.

Yami clenched a handful of his shirt in his fist and tugged softly. Light flashed about behind his eyes and the throbbing grew tenfold. He pulled harder and the air in his lungs came in a soft wheeze. He struggled to ground himself but he could see small beads of color traversing about his lids, soft in color and pulsing as they zigged and zagged about the darkness.

He ignored it when the pain began to fade for a brief second, the sensation trickling away briefly. Yami shook his head and closed his eyes more tightly for a long handful of minutes. They passed in agonizing slowness and Yami could feel Yugi twitching in his sleep beside him.

Had it not been for the fact that Yugi did so often Yami might have opened his eyes immediately and looked over at him. But the smaller teen had always tossed and turned in his sleep when he fell asleep upset. And Yami knew for a fact that it had to do with his unconscious rejection of his advances and his unwillingness to speak about Kisara. He knew for a fact that this had not truly gone unnoticed or been forgiven.

Yami shook his head and forced his eyes open halfway. The light burned them but for the moment it was more frustrating than anything else. It did not start another throbbing and spiraling pain at the second. So he doubted it necessary to squint as hard as he was.

He shook his head a second time, then clicked on the search bar. He typed slowly, struggling to remember the placement of each key. Muscle memory seemed to fail him for the moment and he could not quite make himself remember. So it was frustrating and almost troublesome to get the phrase "Atem Sennen" into the search.

The immediate results were what he'd thought they would be. Twenty-five thousand results appeared and the first thing he saw was "Son of Ambassador returns to Egypt". The next was "Ambassador and Wife Attacked, Son Returns". The next had too long a title for him to care to read for longer than a moment. And beneath that was "Atem Malik Ini-Herit Sennen Taking Care of Father After Murder of Wife".

He scrolled further down.

"Suspicious Timing: Estranged Son Returns After Reportedly Pledging Not to" came next. Yami nodded slightly, clicking on it first before skimming the article. It was absolute speculation but the writer had gotten mild support and others had not. He shrugged it off, changed his search words to "Ini-Herit family".

But whatever it was he was looking for did not appear to him. Yami was dizzy and tired as the seconds passed. And his head began to spin, his mouth feeling dry as he breathed in rather shakily. He shivered and shook his head, moving to close the laptop.

But his fingers clenched abruptly and his heart lurched in his throat. The pain which came through him now was enough to make him tremble. His eyes grew several sizes wider and he could feel his stomach knotting and his head spinning faster than ever.

He ground his teeth together, trying his hardest to breathe through his nose. But the pain was growing and his head throbbed and he swore he was going to vomit. A low and shuddering moan left his lips before he could stop himself. And his laptop rattled where it sat atop his knees. He hissed again, trying to regain his breath and balance.

The laptop shook more violently. And Yami grabbed at his hair. He was shaking harder than ever. And his laptop rattled loudly before dropping violently to the floor. The thud was so acute it made his head spin. And the impact with the floor made it seem to all but shatter, the noise of it hideous where it rang in his ears.

"Yami?"

The screen was pointed upwards and the light it cast burned through him. He shuddered harder than ever. And the mattress squeaked beneath him. He wanted to vomit.

"Yami…?"

The red-eyed teen flinched and then whimpered, grabbing at his head again. He pressed his palm against his face, eye throbbing from the force, and his fingers shielded much of his vision from the light. He curled his fingers and his nails cut slightly into his skin.

"Fuck—Yami?" the other boy repeated. His voice was soft, strained and almost shattered. "Yami? What the hell is going on?"

He was wheezing by the time Yugi managed to turn on the lamp light. And he was almost gagging when the small teen leaned over and searched his face.

Yami was paler than ever, his fingers clenched, eyes shut tightly. He was still shaking and his face was covered in sweat.

"Shit." He almost reached out to touch him but Yami hardly seemed receptive. In fact he'd moved as if Yugi had somehow burned him simply by turning his head towards him. Yugi moved to sit up, studying him, and swallowed hard as his heart leaped into his throat. He shivered and considered Yami a moment longer. He looked…extremely sickly. And Yugi was not sure what he was meant to say. He was not sure what he was meant to do…

It took him a moment to recognize it.

The realization made his heart pound in his chest.

Yami had only mentioned them once.

But when he had he'd told him all of it. He'd said his father smothering him when he was younger had caused a lot of problems. One of them was that he had had trouble breathing when he was younger, leading to asthma for a couple of years before he'd grown out of it. Another was a lack of balance those years he'd had asthma. And the last was a series of crippling migraines he'd revealed he still suffered from. Yugi himself had never witnessed them but Yami had said they struck frequently when he was stressed out enough because they triggered from his panic when he tried to suppress it…

"Damn it…" He jumped up from his position on the bed and Yami started shaking harder, grabbing at his head and moaning loudly. Yugi considered him for only a moment, then moved to grab at one of the drawers of the nightstand between the two beds. He rifled through them, reaching blindly until he grabbed the bottle of medicine he'd brought.

He didn't know if the dose would be high enough but he'd gotten it for his jet lag. When Yami had left for the hospital Yugi had been exhausted and his head had started pounding. It was a common side effect from being on a plane too long. Between his ears popping from the pressure and the headaches that came after he'd been quick to grab a stronger dose the moment he'd gotten to the airport.

Yugi twisted the cap off, dumping two bright blue capsules in his hand, and hurried over to the mini fridge hidden in the corner of the room. There were several small bottles of water in it, cold to the touch, and he hoped it wouldn't cause Yami any problems to have water that wasn't room temperature in the midst of his migraine.

"Okay, okay," he mumbled under his breath, moving over to the bed. "Yami, hey, can you hear me?"

An eye cracked open just enough for him to see from where he was standing beside him. But he couldn't see much else and Yami seemed to be staring blindly at the comforter from where he'd begun to fold in on himself forcefully. He was almost collapsed in on himself, head between his knees and arms wrapped around them.

But Yami had reacted, Yugi realized. He couldn't speak, but he was trying to answer him in some way. The small teen nodded to himself and undid the cap of the water bottle. "Can you sit up? I'll roll you over if you can't."

Yami's eye slowly shifted towards him. He squinted at him as if unsure and then shuddered as he attempted to pull out of his makeshift ball. He couldn't do it, however, and his visible eye grew wide and glazed over.

He whimpered and Yugi shivered.

"It's okay, it's okay, darkness. I'll do it. Just…" He wanted to tell him to try not to panic. But it was apparent Yami was already in that state. And he doubted he would be able to reverse this with easy words. And saying he did not want him to panic seemed extremely counterproductive as well. He wanted to vomit as he looked at him and his quivering shoulders. "I'm going to touch your shoulder, okay? I'm going to try to move you onto your back so I can give you some medicine."

But when he touched him Yami shook harder than ever. And Yugi released him again immediately, stomach churning. Abruptly he wondered if Yami's father had ever hurt him _while_ he suffered through a migraine. It wouldn't have surprised him in the slightest but he had to wonder. If Yami was tensing up and shaking like this even while in the midst of one…

He shook the thought off. The bastard was going to die soon enough. And when he did Yugi would dance on his fucking grave. But for now…

"Can you sit up for me, Yami? Let go of your legs and try to sit up for me, okay?" he asked softly, unsure of himself as he considered him more pointedly. "Please, Yami? Please try to do that for me?"

There was a moment in which Yami seemed to ignore him. But then he slowly unclenched his fingers where they'd been digging into his jeans legs and with excruciating pace, the red-eyed boy managed to straighten them and move to sit up. But the action nearly made him fall over and his hands grabbed at his head with stunning speed. It startled Yugi enough to jump and a long, loud and stunning whimper left him. It was almost akin a scream with how loud it got but it was so keen it made Yugi flinch and back up a step.

It took Yami a long minute to finally undo his tension to lean back enough to consider his posture to be sitting up. But his shoulders were shaking and his hands were so clenched in his hair that he almost looked as if he might cut into his scalp at any moment.

"Okay, good. I…I think I can work with this."

Yugi moved to take a spot on the bed enough to straddle him. From beneath his lashes Yami watched him with keen, dark red eyes as sharp as knives. The Puzzle seemed to be glowing for a split second and Yugi nearly vomited at the thought. It was the reflection from the laptop; it had to be the reflection from the laptop where it was still open…

He moved to balance, his weight on his knees, shifting just close enough to give him better access to Yami's face. When he reached for him, his hands were shaking. And he was amazed he hadn't dumped the water with how furious a tremor it was. He drew in a deep breath, leaned forward, licked his lips, and just barely brushed a finger against Yami's jaw. The other boy didn't seem to react beyond a pitiful whimper of pain but he didn't blink and his eyes stayed focused entirely on Yugi.

"I'm going to move closer and tip your head back a little, okay? And then I'm going to need you to open your mouth. Can you do that?"

Yami let out something of a grunting noise. And Yugi felt as if he might vomit for a moment. Was he truly unable to speak? He wondered if the medicine would even help him at this rate. It was just aspirin after all. He didn't know if it would make it worse or anything of that manner…

He was shaking when he moved closer, getting to his inner thighs and straddling him precariously. He did not think he could do much else but try to hover as he was now. If he moved any closer, he risked scaring him. And the pain and panic were already wild in Yami's eyes as it was.

He drew in another deep breath and moved his hand from his jaw to his chin, rubbing with his thumb at the edge of his mouth. Yami blinked at him and moved to open his mouth just as Yugi managed to tip his head up the smallest degree. He didn't think Yami would let him move him much further. It was clearly taking most of his concentration not to try to lash out against him despite the pain he was in.

So Yugi pushed a capsule into his mouth, forced to prod it past his teeth which were almost clenched, and did the same with the second. From there he pressed the water bottle to his lips and tipped it enough to make the beverage slide into his mouth. When it spilled he cursed but Yami did not seem to even notice.

He'd instinctively tried to swallow and Yugi could see him struggling with the task. It made him wonder. Had he tried to give himself medication in the middle of a migraine before, crippled as he was now? Or had one of his disgusting parents actually _tried_ to help him at one point or another?

He kept the water bottle there, struggling to keep his hand steady, and waited for Yami to swallow another handful of moments. And, finally, as the red-eyed teen successfully swallowed another mouthful, he looked at Yugi with clearer eyes. But his focus didn't mean that he wasn't still in acute pain. And, as Yugi considered him and slowly pulled the water bottle away to twist the cap back on and put it aside, Yami seemed to relax. Yugi moved to sit back down beside him and Yami remained as he was, hands in his hair, but after a few minutes his legs slowly came to fold in front of him again as if he might bury his face in them.

It took over twenty minutes for Yami to slowly pull his fingers away from his scalp. And it took another twenty for his legs to unfold in front of him. Another ten passed before he lowered his shoulders. And another five went before he slowly relaxed his quivering form.

But it took what felt an eternity for Yami to turn his head and look at him after it happened. "Sorry," he mumbled softy. He looked more exhausted than Yugi cared to acknowledge and his voice was cracked with a mixture of tension and frustration. "I haven't had a migraine since after my dad put me in the hospital. It was actually triggered from not using my medicine and it got worse after school so I wound up fainting when Bakura followed me home. He had to drug me afterwards but I didn't think it would happen again."

Yugi shook his head the smallest fraction. "Are they always that bad?"

"Usually." Yami was playing with the comforter now. "Sometimes they get worse."

"Worse? You could barely move. How can they get worse?"

He ignored him for a moment, looking towards his laptop on the ground and away again. At least it had shut itself off. He shivered and played with the comforter. If he didn't look too much at Yugi, the light from the lamp couldn't trigger another reaction.

"It gets to where I can barely breathe or move at all. Sometimes it's bad enough to where I can't think and I panic. Sometimes I forget where I am and what I'm doing. And it makes me want to try to hide…"

Yugi was staring at him. Yami could feel it like daggers in his skin. "Hide?" he asked slowly. "You couldn't move and you still try to hide?"

Yami pursed his lips. "I _try._ And I've managed to drag myself under the bed sometimes, but others I just curl up on my side and wait it out."

"And you don't ever try to make medicine for them?"

"They don't tend to work. Aspirin makes me queasy, caffeine puts me to sleep, painkillers tend to make me anemic, blood pressure medication gives me migraines." Yami fell quiet after a moment, licking his lips as he considered him. "Sometimes they work and sometimes they don't. And my dad refused to take me to a doctor after I developed them and my mom wouldn't go against him so…"

"Your incubator was fucking worthless and your sperm donor deserved to get whacked half to death." Yugi shook his head harshly and Yami smiled faintly. "So you're telling me that he used to smother you when you cried as a baby and then he refused to even take you to a doctor after he saw what that had done to you."

It wasn't a question but Yami nodded regardless.

"And your incubator just sat there and let it happen." Yugi nodded, scowling, and squeezed his eyes shut, pinching at the bridge of his nose with one hand while the other grabbed at his bangs and pulled. He shook his head harshly again and opened his eyes into slits. "That's just amazing. Your fucking… Ooh I wish I knew who had done this. I'd give them a medal."

Yami was silent for a moment. Then he leaned forward to touch his side gently. "It's okay. It's over and done with. I'm here. I'm with you now, right? So maybe it was for the best—"

Yugi spun on him so violently that Yami jerked back, expecting more than ever that he might lash out and hit him. The smaller boy was trembling, scowling at him as he pulled his hands away and snarled, "Are you fucking _kidding_ me Yami? Are you fucking _joking?_ You cannot _seriously_ tell me that you believe that for even a second! They abused you and used you as an icon to make them more important! They were going to force you to marry and give them kids! They were going to make you take up your father's job when he could no longer do it! You were beaten and smothered and—fuck, he _put you in the fucking hospital_! He nearly broke every bone in your body and you're defending him?"

Yami flinched. "I never said—"

"You said 'maybe it was for the best'! Are you seriously going to tell me that I'm wrong right now?! Are you going to tell me that's _not_ what you meant?" He was shaking so hard the bed shook and squeaked faintly. Yami clenched his fingers on the comforter and narrowed his eyes the smallest degree. He had to remind himself to breathe for a moment. "Well? Are you going to tell me that or not?"

"I didn't mean it like that." Yami fumbled for a moment to think of something to say, then cleared his throat awkwardly. "I just meant that if they hadn't been this way we probably would never have met."

 _And you might be with someone better than me._

"Okay, so you're going to say that meeting me was worth all the abuse?" Yugi huffed, scowling at him. "That's one of the stupidest things to ever leave your mouth, Yami. What the fuck?"

Yami was quiet for a moment, then sighed and looked away. "I judge a lot of things against meeting and being with you," he admitted, clenching his fingers again. He could feel Yugi staring daggers into the side of his head and his heart lurched. He was not going to be happy with him. "So, at the end of the day, if it led me to you then I have to consider it something of a good thing."

Yugi was silent for a long handful of moments. And then he hissed out a deep breath and seemed to struggle with the task of keeping from snapping at him. Yami almost wished he would tear him a new one rather than stay quiet as he'd chosen. He swallowed hard and clenched his fingers again, chewing the inside of his cheek until his tongue was coated in blood.

"You have low standards," was what Yugi finally said, a despaired but aggressive mumble. "You need to raise your standards."

And yet Yami could sense that he was folding already. Clearly he was upset, but he was trying to understand as well. And he was remembering, Yami was sure, how his face had looked when he'd had so much self-hatred to paint it. He shivered beside him, then moved slightly closer. And he was genuinely amazed when Yugi did not pull away from him entirely.

"I have high enough standards."

"For what? A fucking monkey? Damn it, Yami, you should want better for yourself."

"Better for me than what you can offer? There's no such thing."

"I don't exactly offer you much. I don't even understand how you get the idea that I do."

Yami was silent for a moment. "You had every chance to ditch me when the whole thing first came to light. You could have left me to suffer alone. You didn't have to come check on me that day when my…sperm donor threw me down the stairs. You didn't have to stay after you found out about my past. And you could have turned your back on me when I ignored you for that entire week. But you never did."

"And that justifies thinking that being abused was a good thing to happen to you?" he asked harshly. "You honestly don't care about yourself very much do you?"

Yami looked at him from his peripheral before slowly lifting and turning his head to look at him. "You almost laid down in a fire with me when you thought I was going to die," he said quietly, unsure of himself even as he said the words. Yugi stared back at him silently, eyes widening and then narrowing as he grimaced in turn. "And you know I'm…borderline. You know that I hate a lot of things about myself. If it's so terrible that I think you're the best thing to happen to me, I'm sorry."

"Because someone who's emotionally unstable half the time and can't even always say he loves you is what you need in life. You have really shitty standards for happiness."

Yami shifted to sit up slightly. "I think you're perfect," he mumbled, clenching his fingers tighter. This wasn't going to end well, he realized. The words made Yugi bristle, sitting up as if Yami had just struck him in the face. He licked his lips and looked away just as quickly as he'd glanced at him, swallowing hard. "I think you're perfect for me, Yugi. And I'm sorry I don't offer you the same feeling."

Yugi was shaking for a moment, though Yami doubted it was with anything other than anger. "If you're going to say that, why don't you look at me while you do it?" he spat abruptly, a snarl in his voice that made Yami stiffen in surprise. "If you're going to honestly _grovel_ at me to make me stay with you—"

His head snapped around, breathing heavy before he could stop himself, eyes wide and horrified. "I'm not! I'm not saying anything to make you stay with me! I…I'm sorry. I won't… I'm going back to bed."

Yugi opened his mouth, then clamped it shut again. They eyed each other for a moment. And then he looked abruptly away again with a sneer. "I'm sorry. I know you didn't mean it like that."

Had Yami been anyone else, he might have asked why he would have said it otherwise then. But he understood his beliefs of being unlovable. He knew such a thing. And so he fell silent and shook his head slowly.


End file.
